tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66482222779892700462024-03-13T00:28:31.429-04:00Groves Honors PhilosophyExamining life and making it worth livingGeoff Wickershamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07430848929082686290noreply@blogger.comBlogger140125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-55654011703604085682023-06-04T23:19:00.001-04:002023-06-04T23:19:25.568-04:00Blog #112 - The Truman Show <p>I recently re-watched T<i>he Truman Show</i> this week, and I thought, wow! The ethical dilemmas; the allegory of the cave comparisons; Christof as the Evil Genius; a prediction of how far Reality TV could go; the blurring of the lines between reality and fiction. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>According to the website, The Take, it breaks down one of the film's biggest philosophical influences: <p></p><p><span face="museo-sans-condensed, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;"></span></p><blockquote><span face="museo-sans-condensed, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;">"The most significant influence behind </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: museo-sans-condensed, sans-serif; font-size: 17.424px; line-height: inherit; outline: 0px;">The Truman Show</i><span face="museo-sans-condensed, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;"> is the work of </span><a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/baudrillard/" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #06acff; cursor: pointer; font-family: museo-sans-condensed, sans-serif; font-size: 17.424px; line-height: inherit; opacity: 1; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;" target="_blank">Jean Baudrillard</a><span face="museo-sans-condensed, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;">, the famous French sociologist, philosopher and postmodern theorist. His most famous work, the 1981 philosophical treatise </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: museo-sans-condensed, sans-serif; font-size: 17.424px; line-height: inherit; outline: 0px;">Simulation and Simulacra</i><span face="museo-sans-condensed, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;">, focuses on the relationship between reality, symbols and society — not unlike the topics explored in </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: museo-sans-condensed, sans-serif; font-size: 17.424px; line-height: inherit; outline: 0px;">The Truman Show. </i><span face="museo-sans-condensed, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;">From this work emerged <b>Baudrillard’s theory of hyperreality, which Baudrillard defines as the “inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from a simulation of reality, especially in technologically advanced postmodern societies.” </b>Truman’s world is a concrete example of a hyperreality, as it’s a simulation of a world that is seemingly real but does not actually exist. The key to the hyperreality of </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: museo-sans-condensed, sans-serif; font-size: 17.424px; line-height: inherit; outline: 0px;">The Truman Show </i><span face="museo-sans-condensed, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;">is its apparent authenticity, as every element within Truman’s world is designed to copy the appearance of the real one. It’s this replication of the appearances of reality that continuously tricks Truman, preventing him from learning the truth for decades and blurring the line between reality and fiction." </span></blockquote><span face="museo-sans-condensed, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;"></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;"><span face="museo-sans-condensed, sans-serif"><a href="https://the-take.com/read/how-does-the-truman-show-relate-to-the-works-of-jean-baudrillard#:~:text=Quick%20Answer%3A%20The%20Truman%20Show,but%20does%20not%20actually%20exist.">https://the-take.com/read/how-does-the-truman-show-relate-to-the-works-of-jean-baudrillard#:~:text=Quick%20Answer%3A%20The%20Truman%20Show,but%20does%20not%20actually%20exist.</a></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;">Apparently, with the spread of Reality TV, most of which happened AFTER this movie, a new mental disorder was actually named after Truman Burbank,The Truman Show delusion, in which someone thinks that their entire life is being staged for a TV show or that they're being watched on camera. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;">Casting Jim Carrey in this role was also a huge risk in 1998, given that he was almost exclusively known as an over-the-top comedic actor, famous for roles in </span><i style="font-size: 17.424px;">Ace Ventura, The Mask, Dumb and Dumber, The Cable Guy, and Liar, Liar. </i><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;"> I think that he had done an amazing job of giving Truman humanity and rebellion. </span><p></p><div><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;">There's also the allegory of the cave aspect of the film - after learning about it and watching this film, Truman's soundstage is literally a cave that simulates reality. In fact, Plato envisioned the prisoners in the cave as not really seeing reality but shadows on the wall. Is this much different than <i>The Truman Show</i>? </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;"><b><u>Questions to answer (Pick 3 to do, you must include #6): </u></b></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;">1. How close to the allegory of the cave was <i>The Truman Show</i>? Is it truer to the allegory than the <i>Matrix</i> or Free Guy? Where is The Truman Show </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;">the closest to the allegory? Where does it fall short the most? Explain why. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;">2. How did the Truman Show anticipate what Reality TV would become in the next 25 years? Explain. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;">3. What are your thoughts about the ethics of Truman being the first human being owned by a corporation? In some weird way, are employees "owned" by their employers with the salary / wages that they pay their employees? Is this metaphorical slavery? Explain. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;">4. How much does Christof act as Descartes' Evil Genius? And of course,how is Christof NOT like the Evil Genius? </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;">5. Throughout the film, you see the audiences are extremely invested in the show, which would explain why the show had run for almost 30 years, complete with the sale of props and products from the show. Right as the film (and the show) ended, though, the security guards were already asking about what was next. What is the filmmaker saying with that final scene? </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;"><b>6. If there is any film that screams for a sequel, this is one. What do you think happens next once Truman leaves the set (and, in essence, his whole life) behind? </b></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;"><b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;"><b><span style="color: red;">300 minimum words total for all three answers. Due Tuesday night, June 6, by 11:59 p.m. </span></b></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;"><b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17.424px;">An essay on <i>The Truman Show</i> and philosophy<b style="color: red;"> - </b></span><a href="https://philosophynow.org/issues/32/The_Truman_Show">https://philosophynow.org/issues/32/The_Truman_Show</a> </div>Geoff Wickershamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07430848929082686290noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-53067028650864854332023-05-31T21:08:00.000-04:002023-05-31T21:08:52.063-04:00Blog #111 - Groundhog Day and the Eternal Return<p>Phil Connors, the cynical TV reporter (played by Bill Murray) and central character of <i>Groundhog Day</i>, is tasked with doing a lame assignment to report on the annual Groundhog Day tradition. What he finds out is that he is forced to relive this day over and over again, much to his horror. Then he finds ways to take advantage of his circumstances, but after he's exhausted all of those ideas, he falls into despondency and attempts suicide. It seems that the universe is sending Phil a message, and he is just not getting it. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgd89Y-HFJ9hnX0K-wWsta8WNe37R9Em53Tb_N4yUXpSM7mDzDe9eDsKtk2jCp11XO_ocLzd9WAMBx2mU0EeSRl6Hi03hcIjOwZm8huLRzcWmu1vGwCwjqbOXts24IrbM5HpAC__NaZvfU4pCm6KVprJVdT54igZRMIAZwNAaXdHGXW1MUSh0xicyNSg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="668" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgd89Y-HFJ9hnX0K-wWsta8WNe37R9Em53Tb_N4yUXpSM7mDzDe9eDsKtk2jCp11XO_ocLzd9WAMBx2mU0EeSRl6Hi03hcIjOwZm8huLRzcWmu1vGwCwjqbOXts24IrbM5HpAC__NaZvfU4pCm6KVprJVdT54igZRMIAZwNAaXdHGXW1MUSh0xicyNSg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p>This article sums up the philosophical underpinnings of this classic 1993 comedy: </p><p><em style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20.8px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">"It’s Groundhog Day, again! The popular film explored an idea that religion and philosophy had previously grappled with: What if time isn’t linear, but cyclical? What if we are condemned to relive our lives again and again, to eternity? Groundhog Day presents this possibility as a challenge but also an opportunity: to imagine what the best versions of ourselves could be, even if the world around us remained the same.<span style="color: red;"> Nietzsche, on the other hand, imagined an eternal recurrence in which nothing changed, every little detail of our lives was relived in exactly the same way, for eternity. He recognized the idea was terrifying, but he also saw it as an exercise in affirming our existence, even the most horrible aspects of it</span>." </em></p><p><a href="https://iai.tv/articles/groundhog-day-vs-nietzsche-reliving-your-life-auid-2040#:~:text=In%20this%20way%20Groundhog%20Day,life%20without%20consequence%20with%20meaning.">https://iai.tv/articles/groundhog-day-vs-nietzsche-reliving-your-life-auid-2040#:~:text=In%20this%20way%20Groundhog%20Day,life%20without%20consequence%20with%20meaning.</a></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjEaFQadGEvvNtBe0dmYiMFRcK76J4Gs2LlC4lkfhUWWjmXq8u-1G0NXHbkpImnfcRmJu0E9xXpxN3orGfoe9pXBtRBEiFC6CrGc5n6nWwNIfveivjZ7ezgIde4YZZ6S4tlRYDxGCqHuxS-6Jo0-sHx3S5dSFxqD-KwvUPlKVtsx3TUMsjOt3rNJcJ0aQ" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="698" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjEaFQadGEvvNtBe0dmYiMFRcK76J4Gs2LlC4lkfhUWWjmXq8u-1G0NXHbkpImnfcRmJu0E9xXpxN3orGfoe9pXBtRBEiFC6CrGc5n6nWwNIfveivjZ7ezgIde4YZZ6S4tlRYDxGCqHuxS-6Jo0-sHx3S5dSFxqD-KwvUPlKVtsx3TUMsjOt3rNJcJ0aQ=w400-h226" width="400" /></a></div></div><p><b>Questions after watching <i>Groundhog Day</i>:</b> </p><p>1. Compared to <i>Edge of Tomorrow</i>, which movie best exemplifies Nietzsche's intention about the eternal return (highlighted in red above)? Why? </p><p>2. What is the filmmaker's message concerning Phil and his behavior? Explain using specific examples from the film. </p><p>3. Why do you think movies that use the time loop like Groundhog Day are so popular and keep getting made? See the list of movies doing this here - <a href="https://collider.com/palm-springs-best-time-loop-movies-to-binge-over-groundhog-day/#39-the-final-girls-39-2015">https://collider.com/palm-springs-best-time-loop-movies-to-binge-over-groundhog-day/#39-the-final-girls-39-2015</a> </p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="color: #ff00fe;">300 minimum words for all three of your answers. Due by Friday night, June 2 at 11:59 p.m. </span></b> </p>Geoff Wickershamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07430848929082686290noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-82622693790755387482023-05-29T19:35:00.000-04:002023-05-29T19:35:34.873-04:00Blog #110 - Red Pill or Blue Pill? <p><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">Which pill would you have taken and why?</span></span></p><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Neo is offered the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">red pill</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> and the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #000066; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">blue pill</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> by Morpheus in the opening act of </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">the Matrix</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">. The blue pill allows Neo to remain in the Matrix, in essence to go back to sleep and to remember this little encounter w/ Morpheus as a dream or "believe whatever you want to believe". The red pill allows Neo to stay in the "wonderland" and discover the truth.</span><div><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifTcj6atYAe1or9lw41SHZxldOU1MvLd29eY2sQPW4AOzqBG5qmYgrSHpcpFyNnNBslwSLhr7Zvan-oUJIc4yZb4kDkTHyvA9cKhTRurYYle0RX-sAY7D5QNzQuqGIRHyPP9jEVOOPOcvm/s1600-h/matrix04.jpg" style="background-color: white; color: #6699cc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247165779889505442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifTcj6atYAe1or9lw41SHZxldOU1MvLd29eY2sQPW4AOzqBG5qmYgrSHpcpFyNnNBslwSLhr7Zvan-oUJIc4yZb4kDkTHyvA9cKhTRurYYle0RX-sAY7D5QNzQuqGIRHyPP9jEVOOPOcvm/s200/matrix04.jpg" style="border: none; float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; position: relative;" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">I like this sentence from an essay about the Matrix b/c it captures the essence of the choice: </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><em style="background-color: white; color: #000099; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"></span><em style="background-color: white; color: #000099; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">"The question then is not about pills, but what they stand for in these circumstances. The question is asking us whether reality, truth, is worth pursuing."</em><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><blockquote>I think since most if not all of you who are taking this class are taking this class b/c you want to dig deeper into life, you are highly curious and intelligent and want to find out what is out there, I think there's very very few who will NOT take the red pill.<br /><blockquote><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYFHa-2WIjd-0yFT16c15OkqyM-3FZB9XdZnG8h_LfPMk3VHF88psOCHxsI5olvgGCBp-VHkvk0E9Gd_GXcSh6-dhkqp2ewlrwhum8qgG5W4x5OShsS9K70jj5bhjTrxiJvALs27zeLQs/s1600-h/pods800.jpg" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYFHa-2WIjd-0yFT16c15OkqyM-3FZB9XdZnG8h_LfPMk3VHF88psOCHxsI5olvgGCBp-VHkvk0E9Gd_GXcSh6-dhkqp2ewlrwhum8qgG5W4x5OShsS9K70jj5bhjTrxiJvALs27zeLQs/s1600-h/pods800.jpg" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;"></a></blockquote><blockquote><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYFHa-2WIjd-0yFT16c15OkqyM-3FZB9XdZnG8h_LfPMk3VHF88psOCHxsI5olvgGCBp-VHkvk0E9Gd_GXcSh6-dhkqp2ewlrwhum8qgG5W4x5OShsS9K70jj5bhjTrxiJvALs27zeLQs/s1600-h/pods800.jpg" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYFHa-2WIjd-0yFT16c15OkqyM-3FZB9XdZnG8h_LfPMk3VHF88psOCHxsI5olvgGCBp-VHkvk0E9Gd_GXcSh6-dhkqp2ewlrwhum8qgG5W4x5OShsS9K70jj5bhjTrxiJvALs27zeLQs/s1600-h/pods800.jpg" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;"></a></blockquote><blockquote><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYFHa-2WIjd-0yFT16c15OkqyM-3FZB9XdZnG8h_LfPMk3VHF88psOCHxsI5olvgGCBp-VHkvk0E9Gd_GXcSh6-dhkqp2ewlrwhum8qgG5W4x5OShsS9K70jj5bhjTrxiJvALs27zeLQs/s1600-h/pods800.jpg" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYFHa-2WIjd-0yFT16c15OkqyM-3FZB9XdZnG8h_LfPMk3VHF88psOCHxsI5olvgGCBp-VHkvk0E9Gd_GXcSh6-dhkqp2ewlrwhum8qgG5W4x5OShsS9K70jj5bhjTrxiJvALs27zeLQs/s1600-h/pods800.jpg" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;"></a></blockquote><blockquote><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYFHa-2WIjd-0yFT16c15OkqyM-3FZB9XdZnG8h_LfPMk3VHF88psOCHxsI5olvgGCBp-VHkvk0E9Gd_GXcSh6-dhkqp2ewlrwhum8qgG5W4x5OShsS9K70jj5bhjTrxiJvALs27zeLQs/s1600-h/pods800.jpg" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYFHa-2WIjd-0yFT16c15OkqyM-3FZB9XdZnG8h_LfPMk3VHF88psOCHxsI5olvgGCBp-VHkvk0E9Gd_GXcSh6-dhkqp2ewlrwhum8qgG5W4x5OShsS9K70jj5bhjTrxiJvALs27zeLQs/s1600-h/pods800.jpg" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;"></a></blockquote>So, when answering this question, consider the possible ramifications/consequences of choosing your pill.<br /><ul style="line-height: 1.4; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;"><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Are you content with knowing that you could die at any moment from those machines that are trying to kill you?<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247166080509996322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE8nkp8B2lkIF6KiJxbJrpvC9ePxwvG4ZUJNM405BdLmDgvnAslW6HSVFJCAYv_U-zzRGqU5Qq6rcVnqzCNwQHAjlNkFCiaIYI9S7HLxOb2_LtTbRbMpTLHckBaRg9nby_ReJukHuLd_Th/s200/robots-matrix.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" /></li><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">What if Neo is NOT the One and you've sacrificed yourself for nothing?</li><li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Obviously, if you choose the blue pill and you go back into the Matrix, would you be able to live w/ yourself w/ the knowledge that you had the answers at your fingertips and you let them go (for whatever reasons - fear, apathy, etc.)?</li></ul><strong>So, when choosing, choose wisely and consider the consequences of your actions.</strong></blockquote><br /><blockquote><strong>350 words minimum. Post your answers here below (Comments). Due Wednesday, May 31 by 11:59 p.m. </strong></blockquote><br />Please read this article and make some references to it in your answer: <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/matrix-red-pill-vs-blue-pill/" style="color: #336699; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;">https://www.wired.com/story/matrix-red-pill-vs-blue-pill/</a> <span style="font-size: 14.85px;"> </span></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Also, in the past few years, the term, red pill, has taken on a whole new meaning in masculinity circles. Here's an article about that - </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="https://hypebae.com/2022/10/tiktok-video-red-pill-blue-pill-matrix-andrew-tate-lil-nas-x">https://hypebae.com/2022/10/tiktok-video-red-pill-blue-pill-matrix-andrew-tate-lil-nas-x</a> </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7rSnkA9o7sHv7JamC7l1G66jRjWoOJ8LtjKpXlvGveEGQXfjkGqJVUN9f3vTaf9oGcutxH7P7ZPd8b8UzMhsJcatrH8AI8mKuzamkJ30ELqoB7_D2kgVlX9qP_Gat89iviFBjW2zC0nmfxnLi6S9ZmpjkPsAhu2Vl3kdsVEd0YIrVSRoVSwA-Z6rkWA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="279" data-original-width="465" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7rSnkA9o7sHv7JamC7l1G66jRjWoOJ8LtjKpXlvGveEGQXfjkGqJVUN9f3vTaf9oGcutxH7P7ZPd8b8UzMhsJcatrH8AI8mKuzamkJ30ELqoB7_D2kgVlX9qP_Gat89iviFBjW2zC0nmfxnLi6S9ZmpjkPsAhu2Vl3kdsVEd0YIrVSRoVSwA-Z6rkWA" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></span></div>Geoff Wickershamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07430848929082686290noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-10752391749042924632023-05-09T08:20:00.000-04:002023-05-09T08:20:44.342-04:00Blog #109 - Some thoughts about Inception <p><b> <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Here are some thoughts I'd like you to respond to in your answer to this blog:</span></b></p><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.85px;">1. Philosopher Immanuel Kant would likely say that both inception and extraction are immoral, despite your intentions, because because you (as the extractor) are violating the autonomy of the individual. These actions disrespect humanity because your personal autonomy (or ability to control yourself, your thoughts, and actions) is a mark of your humanity, what makes you different than other animals in this world. If someone has implanted an idea in your head, how can you be responsible for it or the actions that come from it? </span><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><img alt="Image result for inception" height="359" src="https://www.indiewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/inception-1024.jpg?w=780" style="font-size: 14.85px;" width="640" /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.85px;">2. Ariadne acts like Cobb's therapist throughout the movie and helps him with the guilt that is sabotaging his dreams and memories. In the first dream (Yusuf's, in the scene in the warehouse), Cobb tells her why he feels so guilty - because, after 50 years in Limbo, he had planted the idea in Mal's head that this world (Limbo) wasn't real and that they needed to kill themselves to get back to reality (being awake). She brought this idea back with her into reality and flipped the idea around - her waking state was Limbo and that she needed to get back to reality (in her mind, Limbo). My question for you is: is Ariadne practicing her own version of inception w/ Cobb by placing the ideas in his head that he needs to confront Mal's projection and rid himself of the guilt of her suicide (which he eventually succeeds in doing)? Why or why not? </span><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 14.85px;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.85px;">3. <em>Catharsis </em>-- a concept first introduced to us by Aristotle (a purging or purification of the self or the transformation as a result of the catharsis), Cobb, Arthur and Eames have all talked about Fischer reaching a state of catharsis with his father so that their inception idea can take hold. Reconciliation with positive emotion is much stronger, according to Cobb, than with a negative emotion. So we see that Fischer is reconciled with his father at the end and decides to break up his company when he awakes from the kidnapping scene. But, does Cobb reach his own catharsis when he finds that he's allowed into the United States and can finally see his children's faces again? Throughout the movie, that's all he's ever wanted is to get back home to his kids, and the ending scene shows that reunion (with his children a couple of years older - I checked the credits - there are two different pairs of child actors). But does this catharsis really happen because of the ending scene with the top? Did the scene turn off before the top fell over? </span><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="font-size: 14.85px;"> - Cobb also has another scene of catharsis near the end in limbo when he says goodbye to Mal "you're just a shade of my real wife..." </span><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><div style="font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 14.85px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3tmqHm6iTrauYNHnTUc2lZOsVYuUqTMlfGSyYDzJdUIZUtovz8Fcftqo67NoHZw6gIP_I3MPRR13q7Rrf3OaM5HL8k3rZW8449ze6P82bTWrN_Bs791R4fAcaD2teQ7g9QSUqkrhWVbmJK6CGFp8jdlP0NCb3QzI3owK30YfAf5UWisXogV8FiPW0vw" style="color: #336699; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="203" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3tmqHm6iTrauYNHnTUc2lZOsVYuUqTMlfGSyYDzJdUIZUtovz8Fcftqo67NoHZw6gIP_I3MPRR13q7Rrf3OaM5HL8k3rZW8449ze6P82bTWrN_Bs791R4fAcaD2teQ7g9QSUqkrhWVbmJK6CGFp8jdlP0NCb3QzI3owK30YfAf5UWisXogV8FiPW0vw=w432-h640" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="432" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">4. <em>Movie - Making</em> - <em>Inception</em>, as a film, is all a dream, but it's also an extended metaphor for filmmaker Christopher Nolan. Like a dream, the movie is a shared dream for the audience and has its own rules and functions along those lines. Some characters and scenes happen like dreams in which there seems to be no rhyme or reason: Mal comes out of a crowd and stabs Ariadne; the train in the first dream that blasts through downtown where there's no tracks; the elder Fischer's hospital bed in a huge vault inside of a mountain fortress; Cobb squeezing between an amazingly small gap of two buildings. Mal even makes the case to Cobb at the end that he is in fact still stuck in a dream, with feelings of persecution (the authorities or Cobol's security forces), creeping doubts, and little remembrance of how he got there. On another thought, the way the dream team works is similar to how a movie is made - they plan the scenes and the movie sets down to the smallest details, always conscious of the audience (the dreamer's projections) and its reaction. And, the way the movie ends with the cut scene of the top and then kicking into the music (Edith Piaf's haunting melody) as the credits roll is kind of like a dream because sometimes we are ripped out of a dream before its ending and we want to know how it ends. Yet we can't go back.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgTZgisAMZcnvM9hfqgfEGXkLAn8fLewK_SfP-gYPYj5gdk3AUa1iojqYp3sNHSUlM7BnF9xglguQM1gH-0fpQ6HecYm7nKbm5oubPJvExvQSdV114f5WKcj6ibNggGgvc4VbyXqw2T6IL6aAlSqa0NOyjIpFqlzmgH1K1EOG1oWrZsYEZbemGNqCwlvA" style="color: #336699; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgTZgisAMZcnvM9hfqgfEGXkLAn8fLewK_SfP-gYPYj5gdk3AUa1iojqYp3sNHSUlM7BnF9xglguQM1gH-0fpQ6HecYm7nKbm5oubPJvExvQSdV114f5WKcj6ibNggGgvc4VbyXqw2T6IL6aAlSqa0NOyjIpFqlzmgH1K1EOG1oWrZsYEZbemGNqCwlvA=w640-h480" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /> -- all of this is controlled by the master manipulator, the director, Christopher Nolan. Everything in this movie is done for a reason. Cobb is the director, Arthur is the producer who does the research, Ariadne the screenwriter when she acts as the architect, Eames is the actor and Yusuf is the technical guy that makes it all happen. Saito is the money guy (also a producer) who finances the whole operation and Fischer is the audience who is taken for an exciting adventure by the director, Cobb. Yet we are also the audience too, since this is a movie. Arthur mentions continuously that they cannot mess with the dream too much, otherwise the dreamer knows something is wrong. The same can be said for movies - when there's too much fakery or interference from the director, we as the audience snap out of the trance that the movie is weaving for us and see the movie for what it is. We lose ourselves in well-made movies b/c we're not paying attention to the poor acting or screenwriting or plot holes or ridiculous scenes. We care about the characters and want to see a satisfying resolution. And so Cobb, as the director, makes an amazing movie, but also brings part of himself into the movie (Mal) which can influence the audience (she shoots Fischer in the 3rd dream). Most of the jarring scenes in <em>Inception </em>include Mal. And it's Mal who questions Cobb and raises doubt as to his true purpose. <br /><br /> - And since the movie is like a dream, it has planted the idea of itself in the mind of the movie audience as well - is this a movie or was the whole thing a dream? This is where the movie becomes almost a meta-movie; it is Christopher Nolan dreaming about Cobb. </span></div><div style="font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>Please discuss your thoughts on 3 of 4 of these topics. 400 words minimum for your total comment. </b></span><b style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Due Wednesday, May 10 by 11:59 p.m. </b></div></div>Geoff Wickershamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07430848929082686290noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-45042710069449829822023-04-20T11:09:00.002-04:002023-04-20T11:12:39.790-04:00Blog #108 - Hellenism in 2023 <p> <span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">I kept wondering how Hellenistic philosophy applied to today's world as we briefly discussed it this week. I didn't have a lot of time to really go in depth with it, so I included summaries and bumper sticker slogans that could apply, but I still didn't feel like it was enough. So, I thought, why not dig into these different schools of thought on the blog?</span></p><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><div style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium;">First, <strong><u>Epicureans</u></strong> - as we explore most philosophy (and most likely religions as well), there seems to be a denial of pleasure or the association that pleasure is at best, a necessary evil. The philosopher, Epicurus, said that the "<b>best sort of life...is one that is free from pain in the body and from disturbance in the mind</b>." That sounds a rather interesting take for a 21st-century devotee of the good life. There are so many pleasures out there in life that we have been told to stay away from or "wait until you're older." But as we become adults, there are fewer restrictions on indulging your every whim (besides your personal limits of money and time and maintaining a job that gives you that money!). What's to stop you from partying every night? And, in fact, Epicurus "condemned all forms of over-indulgence, and recommended a simple diet." But, as you become an adult and temptations increase, where do you draw the line? Was Epicurus right to withdraw into his garden with friends and live a simple life of pleasure, friendship, and discussion of ideas? How can that work in today's fast-paced, interconnected society? Do you pull a Henry David Thoreau on everyone and go to live in the woods, simply? Or is there some spot in between completing dropping out and total hedonism? </div></div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></div><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><u>Stoicism</u></strong><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"> - When I think of this, I thought of the British palace guards who tourists like to mess with and try to get them to smile. But stoicism is much more than that, especially when dealing with such an uncertain, unpredictable, and violent world. This particular quote from Marcus Aurelius, one of the last great Roman emperors, could fit perfectly in our time period:</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></div><blockquote style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><div style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium;"><em></em><blockquote><em>“I shall meet today ungrateful, violent, treacherous, envious, uncharitable men. All of these things have come upon them through ignorance of real good and ill… I can neither <a href="http://www.travel-images.com/pht/england499.jpg" style="clear: left; color: #336699; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" height="200" id="il_fi" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhT6MTUExA_wOfVrkqbx_y0qXggKvnv8_zvV8BCzhTuz0g3WpEmQZ7L5snagGybf8E-IGo0V4u3K_HGsRDDRIXRanEI6Z4GfaCf9Dcu0AZrLgHI4937H8HKV2F27M4sLQHp0DbbpRL00jiCcMhYdJU=s0-d" style="border: none; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px; position: relative;" width="126" /></a>be harmed by any of them, for no man will involve me in wrong, nor can I be angry with my kinsman…”</em> - <strong>Marcus Aurelius</strong></blockquote><strong></strong></div></blockquote><p> </p><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">Stoicism doesn't mean standing idly by while crazy stuff happens. I think, in many ways, it has to do with the ways in which you react (or don't react) to all the sensationalist news, Chicken-Littles, and Boys-Who-Cried-Wolf out there in the media. If we believed everything we saw and heard about our world that's dangerous, we'd never get our kids immunized for fear of them getting autism, we'd never buy certain brands of products b/c of an email circulating the globe about the product's danger, and we'd certainly never leave the house for fear of being gunned down by an incel with an AR-15 that he purchased legally once he turned 18. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">This article, "The Modern Wimp's Introduction to Stoicism", is rather crude but funny and tries to dispel the notion that being stoic means not flinching when boys get punched in the groin: </span><a href="http://www.primermagazine.com/2010/live/introduction-to-stoicism" style="background-color: white; color: #336699; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;">http://www.primermagazine.com/2010/live/introduction-to-stoicism</a><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"> </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.85px;">Here is a great website that delves deeply into stoicism with 5 recommendations to help you "be more calm and wise": </span><span style="font-size: 14.85px;"><a href="https://www.bfi.co.id/en/blog/stoikisme-aliran-filsafat-yang-membuat-hidup-lebih-tenang-dan-bijak">https://www.bfi.co.id/en/blog/stoikisme-aliran-filsafat-yang-membuat-hidup-lebih-tenang-dan-bijak</a> </span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"> - However, as Stoics, do we ignore all of the warnings out there about impending doom? Too many people ignored the oncoming freight train of death that was attached to the subprime mortgage bubble, and you see where that got us in 2008 - The Great Recession. Too many people were busy making too much money between 1999-2007 to listen to the Pollyannas saying, "hold on a minute! This isn't a good idea." And sometimes, sifting through the town crier's messages, aren't their messages just a call for moderation? Or to bring it up to the modern day - were the people who refused to wear masks or get a vaccine during the height of the COVID pandemic being stoic? Or were they letting fear get the best of them? Or was there something else motivating them to resist things that could literally keep them safe and prevent their death? <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjlOtoVPddrVK_udTxA5BrUP_oFKZ-sqzuANP8TpgJuLQY3Eut5HZZPJ3hPAhDSMgq-xaE5SDbveuy681NLMqkGcLHljuDy8PrtX1Azulb3M_RXksICoXMgGB2RzLo4VBSZY5TfAs62yWx26Sbekc6c0RLaha6AVoMb_G1KOkt9aBKb58NqfQ8OgVuZBQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjlOtoVPddrVK_udTxA5BrUP_oFKZ-sqzuANP8TpgJuLQY3Eut5HZZPJ3hPAhDSMgq-xaE5SDbveuy681NLMqkGcLHljuDy8PrtX1Azulb3M_RXksICoXMgGB2RzLo4VBSZY5TfAs62yWx26Sbekc6c0RLaha6AVoMb_G1KOkt9aBKb58NqfQ8OgVuZBQ" width="222" /></a></div><br />On another subject, if global warming isn't happening exactly as Al Gore said it would, what's wrong with cutting back on our dependence on foreign oil and driving more fuel-efficient cars? What's wrong with getting involved more with the 3 Rs - recycle, reuse, and reduce? I don't know who is correct in the global warming debate (I am utterly convinced that some people are arguing in bad faith on this topic), but there can't be anything wrong w/ America reducing its carbon footprint. </span><div><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><strong><u>Cynics</u></strong> - the ancient Greeks who followed this school of thought often rejcted materialism and strove to live life simply. Cynics today, however, at least the word cynic, generally dismiss peoples' good intentions as having ulterior motives. There is a strain of persistent disbelief and irrational thought that is embedded in the cynical outlook today. With the number of politicians and celebrities that have lied to us while embracing contradictory beliefs or actions, or with corporations saying one thing and doing the other, and our government failing to follow through with its promises, it's no wonder many Americans have become full blown cynics (using the modern sense of the word) and lost faith in American traditions and institutions.</div><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><a href="http://long18th.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/0030008.jpg" style="clear: right; color: #336699; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" height="198" id="il_fi" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEj8WvPJSR_zo6UYmBrSRfXoYDve8Ks1JNIsxCBt1sjxJ1JAjIq-UjUmT5VMU87Toaq1995C_TugBGR2eq5dqk_UN6aIGEkpKCsZ-qkkJR5G9nt-NZUdIY0m1NECIM4ZHQ6zZKWEifaPCh5Aw3Z-A0C7pdnDcZzm7w=s0-d" style="border: none; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px; position: relative;" width="200" /></a> - Has cynicism led to an unhealthy belief in conspiracy theories? When common sense or persistent, reasoned questioing can poke holes in most of the conspiracies almost immediately, why do the conspiracy theories still continue to remain alive? Should we believe in our politicians and leaders and their promises, or just expect them to let us down again? </div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /> </div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Some comments in this paragraph come from: <a href="http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-cynicism.htm" style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;">http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-cynicism.htm</a></div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><strong><u>Skeptics</u></strong> - this school is probably the most easily applicable to today's world because of our almost religious belief and confidence in modern science, which practically demands a minimally and healthy skeptical viewpoint of the world. And in many ways, having a healthy skepticism is helpful for a scientist, philosopher, and in general, being an intelligent human being with all the flood of bogus news out there. </div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Where skepticism differs from cynics is that with cynics, you've already lost before the battle has begun. You will not be able to convince your cynical opponent, rhetorical or otherwise, of any good intentions, etc. If you win, the cynic will probably claim that the game was rigged, and if they win, you weren't a worthy opponent (can you tell that I argue with trolls on the internet?)</div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">I believe that a healthy skepticism in today's life means many things, but I find it hard to explain it w/o resorting to cliches. "I'll see it when I believe it." "Proof is in the pudding." </div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; float: left; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-right: 1em; padding: 4px; position: relative;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://arrestedmotion.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/2827_largeview.jpg" style="clear: left; color: #336699; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" height="251" id="il_fi" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEjeaGuDJ8RoWMzyJnW6tLEe9UuuydVvEicTJiD9t-8WUTDhJJvqK7gthnMSTuVB_L8zkvljY-sWo3igk4-EYv9ZP9RtmUYc4SaLG-uYzuFkq8n3eu6Iv1_7LqNndNycezPcwVCfCj5TZgNclYfGGRpOMoEFTcQAlbI8z53d-Tf61v-N-iMWjq4=s0-d" style="border: none; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px; position: relative;" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 11.88px; text-align: center;">Craig Damrauer's print from "Modern Art" which<br />I think sums up the art cynic in all of us.</td></tr></tbody></table><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">However, I always leave room for belief if something has been proven correct. This can extend to just about anything in my life. And to be honest, if I am skeptical about something and my skepticism is proven wrong or unfounded, <b>I will admit that I was wrong (and that I should be allowed to change my mind)</b>. I just wish more people had the confidence to do this. </span></div><div><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><u>Your job</u></strong><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">: Pick one of the four Hellenist schools of thought and explain in </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">300 words</strong><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"> or more how it applies to your life. If you're having trouble just sticking to one school of thought, or you take issue with something I've said here, then by all means, jump into the fray! </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="color: red;">Due Saturday night, April 22 by 11:59 p.m. </span></strong></div>Geoff Wickershamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07430848929082686290noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-50574634648855604422023-04-06T09:31:00.003-04:002023-04-06T13:58:33.209-04:00Blog #107 - How well does Guy fit the prisoner in Plato's Allegory of the Cave?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xOULKUK07kU" width="320" youtube-src-id="xOULKUK07kU"></iframe></div>So we discussed a llittle bit of Plato's Allegory of the Cave, which he used in <i>The Republic</i> (his most famous philosophical work and a book I had to read as a freshman in college - which I was not ready for and should reread when I get some time this summer). The Allegory fits for so many things, as seen in the illustrated handout on Plato's ideas that I gave to you - it can be about how mankind learns, and it can be about how humans perceive the material world (in the cave) vs. in the idealistic world (the realm of the Forms). But today, it can be used or wielded as a criticism of the dramatic tendency of people to live in the worlds they choose to see on their screeens. The video above is a different one than the one we saw in class (that is located in Schoology if you need a refresher) and also how the Allegory has been used in popular culture recently (feel free to reference the stuff in this video for Connection to the Real World Discussion #2 due next Thursday night). <p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEily31bB3B3YBRXicaGCaztF4Co6VwovtRzY-P7CJFav_G3sO8oKmOEiN7B9vzBA2wN71OEWBNIqjkyaAi_gwsIXBMg9vMLaNwUSmDF5_wl9_h9kUa8BAWxByDC7Q9k-4Ab7A8HfU1DDd7ThFaHqweL7NCtLDe36IYUoqA9pJOoNVIPKhFMO46vmXSUEQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEily31bB3B3YBRXicaGCaztF4Co6VwovtRzY-P7CJFav_G3sO8oKmOEiN7B9vzBA2wN71OEWBNIqjkyaAi_gwsIXBMg9vMLaNwUSmDF5_wl9_h9kUa8BAWxByDC7Q9k-4Ab7A8HfU1DDd7ThFaHqweL7NCtLDe36IYUoqA9pJOoNVIPKhFMO46vmXSUEQ=w514-h289" width="514" /></a></div><p></p><p>So I was initially drawn to <i>Free Guy</i> because I am a huge fan of Ryan Reynolds and his work, but as I initially watched the movie, I started thinking that the movie could be the screenwriter's and director's takes on the Allegory of the Cave (and truthfully, I wanted to find an alternative to the two movies that I have been rotating for the past ten years to illustrate the Allegory - <i>The Matrix </i>and <i>Source Code</i>). Yes, it is a subversive satire about our online world that many of us dabble in or visit on a regular basis and all of the people who profit or comment on it. Is it a critique of corporate capitalism and the fawning belief in our tech wonder bois as represented by Antwan? Absolutely. Does the movie use the stereotype of the Black Best Friend as shown in Buddy, the bank security guard? Unfortunately. Is the film a celebration or warning about the potentials of AI? Debatable. Is it a perfect fit for the Allegory? Yes, but maybe no too. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjQfrdeJ0BpOb7dKX5e1N6vAOhtiJXCqYuTXAFFLn4yOvLcnnefwJ-fmwrpMiRMX57nq3V46hLLIED2Wfyu33PWGy987QFzFYieXGDkwSpcAdFiRd-EW1iRuAsP9xUsIN7PnAZ5wSR4Ckt5oMxJOtAmzhnPl9EG_1VpWdDwfxeP5qDJkT3-dRoTlxlwTw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjQfrdeJ0BpOb7dKX5e1N6vAOhtiJXCqYuTXAFFLn4yOvLcnnefwJ-fmwrpMiRMX57nq3V46hLLIED2Wfyu33PWGy987QFzFYieXGDkwSpcAdFiRd-EW1iRuAsP9xUsIN7PnAZ5wSR4Ckt5oMxJOtAmzhnPl9EG_1VpWdDwfxeP5qDJkT3-dRoTlxlwTw=w532-h354" width="532" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p>So, after we finish watching the movie, I would like you to analyze the following with specific references to the movie AND the Allegory: </p><p>1. In what ways (minimum of 2) does any aspect of <i>Free Guy</i> fit the Allegory of the Cave? How close of a fit are your examples and why? Provide specifics. </p><p>2. In what ways (minimum of 2) does any aspect of <i>Free Guy</i> NOT fit the Allegory of the Cave? Why do your examples not fit the Allegory? Provide specifics. </p><p><b><span style="color: red; font-size: medium;">Minimum 400 words total for your answers. Due Monday night, April 10th by midnight.</span></b> </p><p>(If you missed <i>Free Guy</i> or a portion of it, the film is available on Disney+ and HBO Max). </p><p><b><u>Articles: </u></b></p><p>Every Philosophical Construct Free Guy Tackles With Video Games - <a href="https://www.cbr.com/free-guy-philosophy-explained/">https://www.cbr.com/free-guy-philosophy-explained/</a> </p><p>The Philosophy of <i>Free Guy</i>: <a href="https://erickimphotography.com/blog/2021/11/25/the-philosophy-of-free-guy-film-2021/">https://erickimphotography.com/blog/2021/11/25/the-philosophy-of-free-guy-film-2021/</a></p><p>The Irony of Movies About Taking Charge of Your Life: <a href="https://www.vox.com/22617231/free-guy-review-reynolds-truman-show">https://www.vox.com/22617231/free-guy-review-reynolds-truman-show</a> </p><p>Are We Living in a Simulation? Look to <i>Free Guy</i>, not the <i>Matrix: </i><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/tapestry/are-we-living-in-a-simulation-look-to-free-guy-not-the-matrix-for-answers-says-david-chalmers-1.6393525">https://www.cbc.ca/radio/tapestry/are-we-living-in-a-simulation-look-to-free-guy-not-the-matrix-for-answers-says-david-chalmers-1.6393525</a></p><p><i>Free Guy</i> Wants to Help You Escape the Simulation: <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/08/ryan-reynolds-shawn-levy-free-guy-simulation">https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/08/ryan-reynolds-shawn-levy-free-guy-simulation </a></p><p><br /></p>Geoff Wickershamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07430848929082686290noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-12119047147675835382023-03-17T13:58:00.002-04:002023-03-17T13:58:40.103-04:00#106 - All Vibes with the Natural Philosophers <p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">Please make sure y</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">ou read the chapters, "Natural Philosophers" and "Democritus", pgs. 30-48 in order to do a great job answering the blog question. Feel free to use the NP grid sheet and the NP handout as well. </span></span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />The natural philosophers discussed in these two chapters sought the answers as to what substance makes up our world and how to account for perceptible changes in life.<br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /><strong><u>What was the substance of life?</u></strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhojM7FVB4R4ATNS7cf2cO5EbKcyFJy5WKRWuoUplwNtU4JH8b54_AdWZzCbeiy32aGlYogPT6xcHim6NCgHIGSLjzz6E9m7F-aN_UB1SUsgsNCcJe903g-hWLl3_5Xqdzdt7x7QLYGB3qw/s1600-h/four+roots.jpg" style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380652156712986450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhojM7FVB4R4ATNS7cf2cO5EbKcyFJy5WKRWuoUplwNtU4JH8b54_AdWZzCbeiy32aGlYogPT6xcHim6NCgHIGSLjzz6E9m7F-aN_UB1SUsgsNCcJe903g-hWLl3_5Xqdzdt7x7QLYGB3qw/s200/four+roots.jpg" style="border: none; float: left; height: 134px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; position: relative; width: 146px;" /></a><br />- Was everything made of water as <strong>Thales </strong>stated? Or air in different combinations like <strong>Anaximenes </strong>commented? Or something called the"boundless"? <strong>Empedocles </strong>went further and felt that everything in life was a combo of 4 roots - earth, air, wind and fire (Avatar, the Last Airbender anyone?) - and that all things that have ever been and will ever be come from infinte variations of those roots. <strong>Anaxagoras</strong> was ahead of his time by envisioning material items being made up of tiny particles called "seeds."<br /><br />- Or, as <strong>Democritus </strong>hypothesized, is life made up of immutable, tiny particles that are much like Lego pieces? The pieces are not all uniform in size and shape, and so that's what accounts for the infinite possibilities of these pieces he called "atoms".<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwgJDklWXAlu6gAQ-fmAaHnkcV4Y6yZdDAbreovh9wyC2VC4pj0E5Y6kG5mTGj0Gg1efFRI6X83Rofz9yKARmLHhJWgVN7AcaGYK2xNeQsu-Jy92SbWliPaRFKMWp5pGy_-HzsdZJh9tEc/s1600-h/lego-sculpture.jpg" style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380652511612603618" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwgJDklWXAlu6gAQ-fmAaHnkcV4Y6yZdDAbreovh9wyC2VC4pj0E5Y6kG5mTGj0Gg1efFRI6X83Rofz9yKARmLHhJWgVN7AcaGYK2xNeQsu-Jy92SbWliPaRFKMWp5pGy_-HzsdZJh9tEc/s200/lego-sculpture.jpg" style="border: none; float: left; height: 155px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; position: relative; width: 155px;" /></a><br /><br /><br /><strong><u></u></strong></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><strong><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><u></u></span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><strong><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><u></u></span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><strong><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><u></u></span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><strong><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><u></u></span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><strong><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><u></u></span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><strong><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><u></u></span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><strong><u>What makes things change (or how do we explain he changes we experience w/ our senses)?</u></strong><br /><br />- <strong>Parmenides </strong>believed like all Greeks that nothing could come from nothing, and so things really didn't change. If he saw that the leaves were changing colors but his reason told him that nothing could really change, so what gives? Parmenides says that you can't trust your senses.<br /><br />- Well, <strong>Heraclitus </strong>says Baloney! Everything's in flux, he says, but the thing that keeps everything whole is the <em>logos </em>or universal reason.<br /><br />- Empedocles blended </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">both</span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">permanence and change together with his 4 roots theory. Things change, but the roots are immutable and you can trust your senses.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJ5d6pDQrbU_eemqqOXJohW6GhbJu7IVldku2qxbpk8nx4jQCIB_U7-osdVA3P8b2dv5z9gBRfqWG9MBq2iLwTsqdq0RmrqcLGk2lQx00xHL0vUmwWpuBltUtqgt1QuuqoFkDAQ3VOGt-H1PKmILRvfFWziZenyueRk-wKzC6_QOl74Anc60mPjoU-WQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="602" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJ5d6pDQrbU_eemqqOXJohW6GhbJu7IVldku2qxbpk8nx4jQCIB_U7-osdVA3P8b2dv5z9gBRfqWG9MBq2iLwTsqdq0RmrqcLGk2lQx00xHL0vUmwWpuBltUtqgt1QuuqoFkDAQ3VOGt-H1PKmILRvfFWziZenyueRk-wKzC6_QOl74Anc60mPjoU-WQ=w387-h205" width="387" /></a></div></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /><u>One thing to keep in mind before you answer the following questions: These natural philosophers did all of this thinking and hypothesizing without the benefit of our current technology and theories.</u></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Please answer these questions: </b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><em style="font-size: large;">1. Which of these natural philosophers <b><u>do you most vibe with</u></b>? Why?</em><br /><br /><em style="font-size: large;">2. Which of these natural philosophers is the most opposite of your personal views of life / universe? Why?<br /></em><br /><strong><span style="color: #3333ff;"><span style="font-size: large;">250 words minimum total for both answers - Due Wednesday, March 22 by the beginning of class.</span></span></strong></span></div>Geoff Wickershamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07430848929082686290noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-65252695374612374582022-05-27T14:53:00.001-04:002022-05-27T14:53:43.151-04:00Blog #105 - Hanna <p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">The subject of genetic engineering / manipulation came up during </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Hanna</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">, though in an unrealistic sci-fi scenario where the CIA tried making super soldiers through invitro - genetic enhancement. But while this sounds like sci-fi now, there are a lot of things today that can be done that are NOT science fiction that are pretty close to genetic manipulation. </span></p><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdw002W6Ydcmu58Yfk8Z4z5AXnCyM7fi7ecolo7MYy5LPbr1tYjdb0Qq-0AWZjIXwsABZTsoyjftX_xhWvSIirKbO0BUjpSmo5mxK_agDgyYjJCzaAiKeVL-Pt-9iIwAp2LmgqE5e8cLL-/s1600/hanna-movie-poster-slice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #336699; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" height="106" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdw002W6Ydcmu58Yfk8Z4z5AXnCyM7fi7ecolo7MYy5LPbr1tYjdb0Qq-0AWZjIXwsABZTsoyjftX_xhWvSIirKbO0BUjpSmo5mxK_agDgyYjJCzaAiKeVL-Pt-9iIwAp2LmgqE5e8cLL-/s320/hanna-movie-poster-slice.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> - <em>what happens if you want a boy in your family since your family already three girls?</em> What could you do to increase the odds? Picking the sex of your child can be done now w/ invitro fertilization (IVF) once fertilized eggs divided into eight cells, that mass can be tested for sex and then implanted in the mother's womb. </div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><em>- what if you really loved your dog or cat and wanted one exactly like it?</em> Apparently, a company existed for 2 years called Genetics Savings and Clone and was able to clone a couple <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK3pWJK9b7cH8Iw7DTGDBi6e73ithguntS3dj7Kc7gCBvYVtlqMK26P7iKGFXAbjc8_wJq3YW7AOg9ozBGyVWYktNxGidri4DYmLr2cBliXkfgyKhV_HfxL2NS68VXXpewakZeA91QzJ6d/s1600/cloneLance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #336699; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" height="200" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK3pWJK9b7cH8Iw7DTGDBi6e73ithguntS3dj7Kc7gCBvYVtlqMK26P7iKGFXAbjc8_wJq3YW7AOg9ozBGyVWYktNxGidri4DYmLr2cBliXkfgyKhV_HfxL2NS68VXXpewakZeA91QzJ6d/s320/cloneLance.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="320" /></a>of cats. It shut down in 2006 for reasons I can't quite fathom (besides my basic revulsion of the idea, other qualms), but here's an NPR link to a radio interview about the company when it opened in 2004 <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4176651" style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;">http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4176651</a></div><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> - Here's a more recent story from 2009 about a Korean company that cloned a Labrador Retriever for $155,000. </span><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/AmazingAnimals/story?id=6762235&page=1" style="background-color: white; color: #336699; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;">http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/AmazingAnimals/story?id=6762235&page=1</a><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> <em>- what if your only child died or had was dying from an accident and making a clone to replace the missing or needed parts was the only way to replace or help that child?</em> This would be a tough one for me to answer b/c I've never ever been in a situation like this, and I don't know how desperate I might get to save my daughter's life. If making a clone of my daughter to create stem cells could help her, I would be all for it. Chances are, scientists wouldn't have to go as far as cloning to help her since our body makes stem cells all of the time. </div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> - But, South Korean scientists in 2004 were successful in cloning a human embryo using the same person's cells (<a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1672523&ps=rs" style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;">http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1672523&ps=rs</a>). The idea was to aid the woman's health, not clone her. Even so, a recent poll in America states that 84% of Americans feel that cloning humans is morally wrong.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEpFUHlfjYbriBt29C7uVhdxS1omY5qJzRtycCfD1yKBO0JMO3A94xNnLTPcI_RrWoPQGYAdfRSxCrBybAOOOAo3mtGTlEWkInK6mpAsVIZkGnT84nxVA5hsrY0gfd0LNXk-gsnXqLHDZ-/s1600/o-international-hanna-trailer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #336699; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" height="84" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEpFUHlfjYbriBt29C7uVhdxS1omY5qJzRtycCfD1yKBO0JMO3A94xNnLTPcI_RrWoPQGYAdfRSxCrBybAOOOAo3mtGTlEWkInK6mpAsVIZkGnT84nxVA5hsrY0gfd0LNXk-gsnXqLHDZ-/s200/o-international-hanna-trailer.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="200" /></a></div><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> - Would you be willing to be part of a genetic experiment that not only strengthened your muscles but prevented them from deteriorating with age?</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> Gene therapy can allow us to repair damaged cells but apparently scientists at the University of Penn have done such a thing with mice in 2004 - called "Mighty Mice." This kind of therapy could help people with muscular dystrophy or ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). But could it also be abused by athletes and others looking for an edge, especially if they aren't injured? Gene therapy doesn't usually show up on drug tests since it's supposed to be part of your natural body chemistry, so how do you know who's doping and who's not? </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> - </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">if you had the chance (and it were possible), would you pick certain traits for your child before he/she was born?</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> Would you want a child that is more predisposed to music, athletics, math, or would you try to pick the hair and eye color and let fate take care of the rest? In 2015, a Chinese scientist successfully edited the gene sequence of two embryos and the children were born. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> -<strong> <em>Is this kind of genetic selection ethical?*</em></strong> Would it create a separate subspecies of humans like portrayed in the movie <em>Gattaca</em> - those who have been enhanced and those who haven't? If you haven't been enhanced, you're stuck in a 2nd class citizenry status much like African Americans were before the Civil Rights movement, while those who have been genetically enhanced (those with money, of course) get the best pick of jobs, lives, etc. </div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Pick at least three questions (one must include the last one about ethics*) and answer them by class, Monday June 6th. Thanks. 300 words minimum. </span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><strong><u>Sources:</u></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="font-size: 14.85px;">Mighty Mice article -</span><span style="font-size: 14.85px;"> </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/18/magazine/in-pursuit-of-doped-excellence-the-lab-animal.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm" style="color: #336699; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;">http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/18/magazine/in-pursuit-of-doped-excellence-the-lab-animal.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm</a></div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></div><div><br /></div>Geoff Wickershamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07430848929082686290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-42657287413391835922022-05-27T14:53:00.000-04:002022-05-27T14:53:35.092-04:00Blog #104 - In Time <p> <b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-size: medium;">"For a few immortals to live, many people must die."</span></b></p><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b><img alt="Image result for In time movie" height="312" src="https://vincentloy.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/in-time-posters.png" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" width="640" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">We are presented with a future world in the movie,<i> In Time</i>, in which time has become so precious that it has now become currency. Somehow, our bodies are born (or implanted with a device) that begins ticking when we reach the age of 25 so that those who work get paid in time and have to buy their necessities like food and rent using the currency of time. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">There are also time zones (don't think like what we have -Eastern, Central, etc., but different parts of a larger city), segregated communities that you must pay time to get into. Just think of gated cities within a much larger city - this is a way to keep the very poor out of (what can only be assumed to be) a middle class or upper class time zone, because the more Will pays as he heads towards the wealthiest part of town, the price continues to go up. So, in essence, there still is free passage among the city, but only if you can afford it. But since many can't afford it, the poor are stuck in their slums. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">The movie focuses most of its time on poor characters who are working day-to-day and struggling to survive. When wages go up, the prices of goods go up, so there's no real way for the poor to get ahead. And of course, in such a dog-eat-dog world, there are also gangsters who try to steal peoples' time - the Minutemen. And when the clock runs out on someone, he/she is dead. Even the timekeepers, the police of this dystopian society, are barely paid decent wages in order to stay alive. Sadly ironic, the ones that are entrusted with enforcing the system don't get paid enough (sounds familiar). In addition, the police are interested in the suicide of one wealthy man yet there are tons of murders in the ghetto everyday. Where does this society's priorities truly lie? In the preservation of the monopoly of time by one particular class. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><img height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEiOAvtuoPYwWmUmgnC0r-RaPXodLI6Fc2ZahFPduPtkanP3ye10bLA8WNuXp8or8UhrqP9x3ldFawuctjU3TMdMy0u8GNcN2NJqTAmhmWzTNj85GuRCrO77FMtRgbRK9WJcjf0vYyRJmtfcQrVAbg4bUi9PBlNsrVxtS-4WYqMg-SiHUrq_JiJ7Tg=s0-d" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" width="640" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">The rich, on the other hand, are trapped in a different kind of gilded prison (think of why Henry gve Will almost all of his time before he died and <i>let </i>his clock expire). Philipe Weis thinks that this time as currency thing is just the next step in evolution - that it is unfair, he says, but so is evolution. With decades, even centuries on their clocks, they continue to look the same as they did when they were 25 even though they might be 107. The one creepy Freudian thing is when Phillipe Weis introduced his mother, wife and daughter (Sylvia) who all looked very similar. Sylvia and Will hit it off and that's when Sylvia said that all the wealthy needed to do was stay out of trouble and they could live forever. Play it safe = live forever. So, unlike Will who lives by the phrase, "Carpe Diem", Sylvia never took chances until she met Will. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Your job for this blog is to 1. apply at least one philosopher or philosophic concept to any part or parts of this movie that you find apply to this movie. 2. Find a weakness in the movie, whether it be in the plot, concept, etc. and explain why. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: magenta; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Due Thursday, June 2 by class. 350 words total for your response. </b></span>Geoff Wickershamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07430848929082686290noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-46751798762621986762022-05-19T08:49:00.000-04:002022-05-19T08:49:45.279-04:00Blog #103 - Should the Batman kill the Joker? <p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.85px;">Please read the following article: "</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.85px;">Why Doesn't the Batman Just Kill the Joker?" by Jesse Richards. </span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/quora/why-doesnt-batman-just-ki_b_3686003.html" style="background-color: white; color: #6699cc; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/quora/why-doesnt-batman-just-ki_b_3686003.html</a></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.85px;"><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><b style="font-size: 14.85px;"><u>It brings up a few good points: </u></b><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="font-size: 14.85px;">1. The Joker will continue to kill (but does Batman murder him for future crimes - could be dangerous - or past crimes? Joker has killed Robin, Commissioner Gordon's wife, and crippled Batgirl, Gordon's stepdaugher).</span><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="font-size: 14.85px;">2. Batman's honor code of not killing is just a way for Batman to feel superior to the men and women of crime whom he is fighting.</span><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="font-size: 14.85px;">3. Is Batman responsible for all of the deaths / mayhem / destruction since Batman first apprehended the Joker? Is that chaos Batman's to own, or should it be the Joker?</span></span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Additionally, it seems, on further reflection, that the Joker, especially the way he is portrayed in <i>The Dark Knight</i>, is the ultimate nihilist. Nihilism is an extreme skepticism that doesn't adhere to any moral or religious principles because they believe that life is meaningless. In some ways, nihilism condemns existence itself. </div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjXYlXBKACDYLTZfijRBKBeFAOTUdb7dlIB9cQ3Kz844qVSjtRDjyFgGM7yFeawt5o9miDrBx-yp3s5eRr3eaDWFWHXQblOJmkICtq-HYaIqKM8CJ0Y0IBGoHRUlvOz8RtHdEe_lYxdlu5FpFLnUlOQvpwAbnU-4rkOxE0tjt_jiNSm485Z2EoZSVeZqg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjXYlXBKACDYLTZfijRBKBeFAOTUdb7dlIB9cQ3Kz844qVSjtRDjyFgGM7yFeawt5o9miDrBx-yp3s5eRr3eaDWFWHXQblOJmkICtq-HYaIqKM8CJ0Y0IBGoHRUlvOz8RtHdEe_lYxdlu5FpFLnUlOQvpwAbnU-4rkOxE0tjt_jiNSm485Z2EoZSVeZqg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.85px;"><b style="font-size: 14.85px;"><u>So, questions to answer: </u></b><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="font-size: 14.85px;">1. In which of the scenarios of the Trolley Problem do you think best applies to this situation w/ the Batman and Joker (assuming it was the Joker who is the trolley)?</span><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="font-size: 14.85px;">2. Should the Batman kill the Joker? Why or why not? And if so, for what crimes - past or to prevent future crimes?</span><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="font-size: 14.85px;">3. Should our superheroes have a no-killing code? Why or why not? Does it just lead to more crime?</span><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="font-size: 14.85px;">4. Is the concept of utilitarianism useful for real life decisions? Why or why not?</span></span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">5. Is Batman a true Kantian in his refusal to kill the Joker (think Kant's practical postulates)? <br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><b style="font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Pick 3 of the questions above to answer. </span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">300 words total for all 3 answers. Due Saturday, May 28 by midnight. </span></b></span></div>Geoff Wickershamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07430848929082686290noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-68987316004962174132022-05-03T07:32:00.001-04:002022-05-03T07:32:22.708-04:00Blog #102 - Ideas about Inception <p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Here are some thoughts I'd like you to respond to in your answer to this blog:</span></p><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.85px;">1. Philosopher Immanuel Kant would likely say that both inception and extraction are immoral, despite your intentions, because because you (as the extractor) are violating the autonomy of the individual. These actions disrespect humanity because your personal autonomy (or ability to control yourself, your thoughts, and actions) is a mark of your humanity, what makes you different than other animals in this world. If someone has implanted an idea in your head, how can you be responsible for it or the actions that come from it? </span><div><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;" /><img alt="Image result for inception" height="359" src="https://www.indiewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/inception-1024.jpg?w=780" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" width="640" /></div><div><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.85px;">2. Ariadne acts like Cobb's therapist throughout the movie and helps him with the guilt that is sabotaging his dreams and memories. In the first dream (Yusuf's, in the scene in the warehouse), Cobb tells her why he feels so guilty - because, after 50 years in Limbo, he had planted the idea in Mal's head that this world (Limbo) wasn't real and that they needed to kill themselves to get back to reality (being awake). She brought this idea back with her into reality and flipped the idea around - her waking state was Limbo and that she needed to get back to reality (in her mind, Limbo). My question for you is: is Ariadne practicing her own version of inception w/ Cobb by placing the ideas in his head that he needs to confront Mal's projection and rid himself of the guilt of her suicide (which he eventually succeeds in doing)? Why or why not? </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14.85px;">3. <em>Catharsis </em>-- a concept first introduced to us by Aristotle (a purging or purification of the self or the transformation as a result of the catharsis), Cobb, Arthur and Eames have all talked about Fischer reaching a state of catharsis with his father so that their inception idea can take hold. Reconciliation with positive emotion is much stronger, according to Cobb, than with a negative emotion. So we see that Fischer is reconciled with his father at the end and decides to break up his company when he awakes from the kidnapping scene. But, does Cobb reach his own catharsis when he finds that he's allowed into the United States and can finally see his children's faces again? Throughout the movie, that's all he's ever wanted is to get back home to his kids, and the ending scene shows that reunion (with his children a couple of years older - I checked the credits - there are two different pairs of child actors). But does this catharsis really happen because of the ending scene with the top? Did the scene turn off before the top fell over? </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> - Cobb also has another scene of catharsis near the end in limbo when he says goodbye to Mal "you're just a shade of my real wife..." </span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3tmqHm6iTrauYNHnTUc2lZOsVYuUqTMlfGSyYDzJdUIZUtovz8Fcftqo67NoHZw6gIP_I3MPRR13q7Rrf3OaM5HL8k3rZW8449ze6P82bTWrN_Bs791R4fAcaD2teQ7g9QSUqkrhWVbmJK6CGFp8jdlP0NCb3QzI3owK30YfAf5UWisXogV8FiPW0vw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="203" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3tmqHm6iTrauYNHnTUc2lZOsVYuUqTMlfGSyYDzJdUIZUtovz8Fcftqo67NoHZw6gIP_I3MPRR13q7Rrf3OaM5HL8k3rZW8449ze6P82bTWrN_Bs791R4fAcaD2teQ7g9QSUqkrhWVbmJK6CGFp8jdlP0NCb3QzI3owK30YfAf5UWisXogV8FiPW0vw=w432-h640" width="432" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">4. <em>Movie - Making</em> - <em>Inception</em>, as a film, is all a dream, but it's also an extended metaphor for filmmaker Christopher Nolan. Like a dream, the movie is a shared dream for the audience and has its own rules and functions along those lines. Some characters and scenes happen like dreams in which there seems to be no rhyme or reason: Mal comes out of a crowd and stabs Ariadne; the train in the first dream that blasts through downtown where there's no tracks; the elder Fischer's hospital bed in a huge vault inside of a mountain fortress; Cobb squeezing between an amazingly small gap of two buildings. Mal even makes the case to Cobb at the end that he is in fact still stuck in a dream, with feelings of persecution (the authorities or Cobol's security forces), creeping doubts, and little remembrance of how he got there. On another thought, the way the dream team works is similar to how a movie is made - they plan the scenes and the movie sets down to the smallest details, always conscious of the audience (the dreamer's projections) and its reaction. And, the way the movie ends with the cut scene of the top and then kicking into the music (Edith Piaf's haunting melody) as the credits roll is kind of like a dream because sometimes we are ripped out of a dream before its ending and we want to know how it ends. Yet we can't go back.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgTZgisAMZcnvM9hfqgfEGXkLAn8fLewK_SfP-gYPYj5gdk3AUa1iojqYp3sNHSUlM7BnF9xglguQM1gH-0fpQ6HecYm7nKbm5oubPJvExvQSdV114f5WKcj6ibNggGgvc4VbyXqw2T6IL6aAlSqa0NOyjIpFqlzmgH1K1EOG1oWrZsYEZbemGNqCwlvA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgTZgisAMZcnvM9hfqgfEGXkLAn8fLewK_SfP-gYPYj5gdk3AUa1iojqYp3sNHSUlM7BnF9xglguQM1gH-0fpQ6HecYm7nKbm5oubPJvExvQSdV114f5WKcj6ibNggGgvc4VbyXqw2T6IL6aAlSqa0NOyjIpFqlzmgH1K1EOG1oWrZsYEZbemGNqCwlvA=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /> -- all of this is controlled by the master manipulator, the director, Christopher Nolan. Everything in this movie is done for a reason. Cobb is the director, Arthur is the producer who does the research, Ariadne the screenwriter when she acts as the architect, Eames is the actor and Yusuf is the technical guy that makes it all happen. Saito is the money guy (also a producer) who finances the whole operation and Fischer is the audience who is taken for an exciting adventure by the director, Cobb. Yet we are also the audience too, since this is a movie. Arthur mentions continuously that they cannot mess with the dream too much, otherwise the dreamer knows something is wrong. The same can be said for movies - when there's too much fakery or interference from the director, we as the audience snap out of the trance that the movie is weaving for us and see the movie for what it is. We lose ourselves in well-made movies b/c we're not paying attention to the poor acting or screenwriting or plot holes or ridiculous scenes. We care about the characters and want to see a satisfying resolution. And so Cobb, as the director, makes an amazing movie, but also brings part of himself into the movie (Mal) which can influence the audience (she shoots Fischer in the 3rd dream). Most of the jarring scenes in <em>Inception </em>include Mal. And it's Mal who questions Cobb and raises doubt as to his true purpose. <br /><br /> - And since the movie is like a dream, it has planted the idea of itself in the mind of the movie audience as well - is this a movie or was the whole thing a dream? This is where the movie becomes almost a meta-movie; it is Christopher Nolan dreaming about Cobb. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>Please discuss your thoughts on 3 of 4 of these topics. 300 words minimum for your total comment. </b></span><b style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Due Friday, May 6 by class. </b></div></div>Geoff Wickershamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07430848929082686290noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-62913593784517791902022-04-20T09:19:00.001-04:002022-04-20T09:19:22.244-04:00Blog #101 - Questions about the Adjustment Bureau <p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">While we watched the </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Adjustment Bureau,</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> I had several questions as did many of you. Here were several of them:</span></p><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">1. Who was the Chairman in the film (I know that somebody found info that the director said that the Chairman was a female character in the film)? Did Norris and / or Elise see the Chairman during the film or was it earlier in their lifetimes before the film ever began? (Do you buy my idea that it was the guy that said hi to Norris on the street after the second time Norris and Elise meet?)</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">2. When Harry said to Elise and Norris that the Chairman rewrote the plan, the book showed a blank space ahead for the two of them. What do you think that meant? Does the blank space mean that David and Elise get to forge their own destiny? Or does it mean something else? Explain. And what does this say about the mind of the Chairman, that two humans can change the</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">3. Kids in past classes have asked why there weren't any female adjusters. I didn't have an answer for them as to that question. I have also criticized the film's Western / Euro - centered bias when it talked about giving mankind free will during the Roman times and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Assess the film in light of these flaws.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><img alt="Image result for adjustment bureau philosophy" height="438" 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" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" width="595" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">4. Why do you think the filmmaker decided never to show the Chairman in his/her/its true form? By leaving this question unanswered, what was the filmmaker's intent? </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">5. Think about Harry's crisis of conscience when Elise and David broke up for the 3rd time (when he left her at the hospital), and he asked Richardson about the rightness of the plan. Put yourself in one of the adjusters' shoes and try to make sense of it all when you're only given part of the picture. Does this limited view of the big picture reflect our own view on life in general? Why or why not?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">6. Do you agree with Thompson when he says that "free will is an illusion"? Why or why not? </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">7. What is the filmmaker saying about order and chaos when Thompson tells us about the times when humans had free will and made a complete mess of the world? </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">8. Looking at Harry's statement at the end (see below), what do you think is the filmmaker's message? Why?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><blockquote style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><em>“Most people live life on the path that we set for them to afraid to explore any other [path]/ Sometimes, someone like you comes along and knocks down the obstacles that we put in your way. People should realize that free will is a gift that you’ll never know how to use until you fight for it. I think that’s the Chairman’s real point. And maybe one day, we won’t write the plan, you will.”</em></blockquote><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"></em><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">Pick <u><span style="color: red;">three</span></u> of these questions and answer them for Monday, April 25 before class begins. </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">350 word minimum for your total answer. Thanks. </span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></strong><img alt="Image result for adjustment bureau philosophy" src="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/69/75/cb/6975cbd637f3b1216825e3285c2c7b0c.jpg" /><br /><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">Some articles on the inclusion of philosophy in Adjustment Bureau: </span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">1. </span></strong><a href="https://www.philosophynews.com/post/2011/09/05/The-Adjustment-Bureau-and-Free-Will.aspx" style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;">https://www.philosophynews.com/post/2011/09/05/The-Adjustment-Bureau-and-Free-Will.aspx</a><br />2. <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/plato-pop/201103/what-the-adjustment-bureau-tells-us-about-free-will" style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;">https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/plato-pop/201103/what-the-adjustment-bureau-tells-us-about-free-will</a><br />3. <a href="https://maxandrews.wordpress.com/2011/03/06/the-philosophy-behind-the-adjustment-bureau/" style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;">https://maxandrews.wordpress.com/2011/03/06/the-philosophy-behind-the-adjustment-bureau/</a><br />4. <a href="http://www1.cbn.com/movies/the-adjustment-bureau-fate-free-will" style="color: #336699; text-decoration-line: none;">http://www1.cbn.com/movies/the-adjustment-bureau-fate-free-will</a></div>Geoff Wickershamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07430848929082686290noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-67016622700656547462022-04-07T13:34:00.001-04:002022-04-07T13:34:48.637-04:00Blog #100 - Agent Smith's Negative Outlook on Humanity <p> </p><img alt="" border="0" height="188" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415551684896422258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9x2jRCS2dGHzA_IZjleKoE5YGLdpy4VD-FobVhh6tNiUweOE4S8MVEh9m9uJ_AMRR1UXLV6sGIlcaaCAfl7wIjdfYE_8JSPMxj_YDbYEYqh8TbftvqD0vE466JpkjhUmBi9eXtgJZEINF/w250-h188/agent_smith.jpg" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; float: left; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; height: 150px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 200px;" width="250" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">During Morpheus' interrogation, Agent Smith reveals to Morpheus why humans rejected the first version of the Matrix, the perfect version of it, 1.0:</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">"Did you know that the first Matrix was designed to be a perfect human world? Where none suffered, where everyone would be happy. It was a disaster. No one would accept the program. Entire crops were lost. Some believed we lacked the programming language to describe your perfect world. But I believe that, <strong>as a species, human beings define their reality through suffering and misery</strong>. The perfect world was a dream that your primitive cerebrum kept trying to wake up from, which is why the Matrix was redesigned to this: the peak of your civilization"1</em><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" />This idea that humans' lot in life on Earth is suffering comes a lot from many different religions, but it's also a very negative view of life. Is it accurate that humans' reality DEPENDS upon suffering and misery? That's one question I'd like you to think more deeply about. <div><br style="background-color: white;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">Smith goes on to define humans as a virus that destroys anything and everything in its path; we spread across the planet like a plague and annihilate everything.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCBsGDhQARRun8QddCHUEprngWzyG6qp4VkZjmCtnscKfcyg5evzCNpYfLMD63iGseVdOyyEelV_jGKHGDVjuhkbLUKYdtxYMsjEnB_XsHs04Oel8bqltXgExy5f2JuFmKoRiLhwJWhOnk/s1600-h/Agent_Smith_1024x768.jpg" style="background-color: white; color: #336699; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="" border="0" height="203" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415552382237466178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCBsGDhQARRun8QddCHUEprngWzyG6qp4VkZjmCtnscKfcyg5evzCNpYfLMD63iGseVdOyyEelV_jGKHGDVjuhkbLUKYdtxYMsjEnB_XsHs04Oel8bqltXgExy5f2JuFmKoRiLhwJWhOnk/w253-h203/Agent_Smith_1024x768.jpg" style="border: none; float: right; height: 175px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; position: relative; width: 218px;" width="253" /></a><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><em>"I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you're not actually mammals. <strong>Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area.</strong> There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. <strong>Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet</strong>. You're a plague and we are the cure" 1</em></p><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">This is kind of a bleak outlook on humanity, but what would you expect from a computer / artificial intelligence who had been trying to destroy our kind for 200 years? But, ironically, these thoughts didn't come from a computer but the minds of the Wachowski sisters who wrote the script. And even more levels of irony, the Agents characters (as revealed in the sequels) are essentially viruses in the system of the Matrix (think about it - they can hop from one sentient being to another, and when that being is killed, the virus / Agent looks for another host with which to do damage). </span></div><div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDmtJySvb8q8Mcp0w4AFfReGUjT_RI7CpaAgeIBaWNvDmRrOWvympIVH6bcBiqVT0_7VCc95R5l6cqH2hBlERFy2VA5bPoVWnPY-n7RvEDDqZ5Py8NChPHZIPSvSELg-tRD1Ufj5Jz81JKmiQxtVPMGjrt6dN1FMLKivtEG-wzGeU90tNhSbzFArF6Ag" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="163" data-original-width="310" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDmtJySvb8q8Mcp0w4AFfReGUjT_RI7CpaAgeIBaWNvDmRrOWvympIVH6bcBiqVT0_7VCc95R5l6cqH2hBlERFy2VA5bPoVWnPY-n7RvEDDqZ5Py8NChPHZIPSvSELg-tRD1Ufj5Jz81JKmiQxtVPMGjrt6dN1FMLKivtEG-wzGeU90tNhSbzFArF6Ag" width="320" /></a></div><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" />And since we're hopefully wrapping up the Covid pandemic (fingers crossed), I couldn't help but think of the corona virus when I watched this scene again in 2022. In the past two years, we have seen the virus kill over 1 million Americans (and <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-death-toll/">6.2 million </a>worldwide as of April 7) and almost half a BILLION confirmed cases across the world. If we want any evidence that humans are NOT a virus, this pandemic has shut that notion down dramatically (though some radical environmental activists point to improved pollution levels as the pandemic being <i>a good thing </i>since a lot of human activity was shut down for months on end). <br /><br /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Questions: </strong></div><div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">1. Do you agree w/ Agent Smith that humankind's reality depends upon suffering and misery? Why or why not? </span></div><div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">2. Does mankind act like a virus in the way we consume resources and destroy our living space? Why or why not?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: 26.73px;">Due Sunday, April 10. 300 words minimum for your total answer.</span></strong><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="font-size: 26.73px;"></span></strong><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><u>Sources:</u></strong><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">1. Internet Movie Database - </span><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/quotes" style="background-color: white; color: #336699; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;">http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/quotes</a><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">A little music to make the blog go easier: Shinedown's "Devour" - </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QXNtLaOnSE" style="background-color: white; color: #336699; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QXNtLaOnSE</a><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"> plus the lyrics for the song:</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Take it and take it and take it and take it and take it all</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Take it and take it and take it until you take us all</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Smash it and crash it and thrash it and trash it</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">You know they're only toys</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"></div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Try it you'll like it don't hide it don't fight it, just let it out</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Steal and shoot it and kill it or take another route</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Take it and take it and take it</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">You know they're only toys</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"></div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Devour Devour</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Suffocate your own empire</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Devour Devour</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">It's your final hour</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Devour Devour</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Stolen like a foreign soul</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Devour Devour</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">What a way to go</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"></div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">You want it, you want it, you want it, you want it</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Well here it is</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Everything everything everything</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Isn't so primitive</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Take it and take it and take it and take it and take it all</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Nobody nobody wants to feel like this</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Nobody nobody wants to live like this</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Nobody nobody wants a war like this</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"></div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Devour Devour</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Suffocate your own empire</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Devour Devour</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">It's your final hour</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Devour Devour</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Stolen like a foreign soul</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Devour Devour</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">What a way to go</div><div align="center" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">What a way to go</div></div>Geoff Wickershamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07430848929082686290noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-90516025870594123032022-03-24T11:05:00.005-04:002022-03-24T11:05:44.548-04:00Blog #99 _ What is Wrong with Socrates? <span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">We read the articles by Emily Wilson with her alternative take on the life of Socrates. In "What's Wrong with Socrates?" in </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">The Philosophers' Magazine, </em><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">2nd Qtr., 2008, she listed 10 things that conflicted with the myth/legend of Socrates that we have grown familiar with.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">Among Socrates' perceived transgressions (in Dr. Wilson's eyes), he was:</span><div><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">1. An amateur and prided himself in not getting paid;</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">2. Irresponsible to leave his wife and two children behind;</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">3. A chatterbox (talk over action is valued);</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">4. Psychologically naive - with statements like "nobody does wrong willingly", Wilson tears him apart;</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">5. Felt that pain didn't matter - if you were good, though wrong/harm was done to you, the real harm is in the sinner or the wrongdoer;</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">6. Anti-political - he felt that few if any are smart enough to run a government properly, but could he do it? Could anyone? If not, why have gov't in the first place?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">7. Parochial - there was little that Socrates believed could be learned outside of the walls of Athens;</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMSHOFXe31hlnrVJICwAyxsmk3yqLnCzIrtQAxinBSYzWmt3WYFSCbCZReo8cvglCvliSZxJGGw5V9SntQcwlTssVU9hPXsRt-bh3BmtqGltAgx_gzG1oYJtmIfOwwMCKeAJm7uc3tMg6a/s1600-h/socrates+rocks.bmp" style="background-color: white; color: #336699; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416591578594992386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMSHOFXe31hlnrVJICwAyxsmk3yqLnCzIrtQAxinBSYzWmt3WYFSCbCZReo8cvglCvliSZxJGGw5V9SntQcwlTssVU9hPXsRt-bh3BmtqGltAgx_gzG1oYJtmIfOwwMCKeAJm7uc3tMg6a/s200/socrates+rocks.bmp" style="border: none; float: left; height: 150px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; position: relative; width: 200px;" /></a><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">8. Arrogant - when Dr. Wilson says arrogant, apparantly she means ill-mannered and inconsiderate among other things listed in the article;</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">9. Superstitious - sometimes, philosophers mean that someone who is religious is superstitious, but the way she wrote this passage, she made him sound a bit loony (eccentric if you want to put a good spin on it) for listening to the voice inside his head. Is that voice his conscience or was hearing voices like the math professor in </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">A Beautiful Mind</em><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">10. Rationalist - normally, you wouldn't think there's anything wrong with being rational, but Dr. Wilson finds that Socrates puts such a strong emphasis on being rational that he leaves no room for emotion in solving problems. He is devoid of emotion.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><p><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">So, your job here is to pick 4 of these criticisms and discuss whether or not you agree or disagree with them. We heard from many of you in class, and here's your chance to refine or air out your ideas.</span> </p><p><b><span style="color: red; font-size: medium;">300 words for your total response to these criticisms, due Friday night, March 25th, by midnight. </span></b> </p></div>Geoff Wickershamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07430848929082686290noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-22476004238414490212022-03-14T18:05:00.003-04:002022-03-14T18:05:21.785-04:00Blog #98 - Which of these philosophers is NOT your vibe? <p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">In the article, "Philosophy 101," we surveyed six major philosophers and came up with some modern-day applications / examples of their ideas. What you should do with this blog is review their ideas and pick which one you think has the most problematic views, whether their philosophy can apply to today, or if you think it doesn't make sense. Explain why. </span></p><div style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #333333; float: left; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><strong style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><u>I. Ancient Greece </u></strong><br /><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><strong style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">A. Plato </strong><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">- he believed in the idea of the perfect form, that there is a perfect concept for everything (person, horse, chair, etc.) and that everything manmade or natural on Earth is an imperfect copy of that perfect form (In the picture to the left, you have a photo of a chair, a definition of a chair printed out, and an actual chair - each one is a chair but they each have different degrees of reality to them - the farther away from the ideal form they are, the less perfect they are). </span><br /><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">- Plato felt that achieving this perfection would be impossible but it would be important to live a good life by striving for perfection. </span><br /><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><img height="320" src="http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/images/Aristotle_Plato.jpg" style="font-size: 14.85px;" width="224" /><br /><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><strong style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><u>B. Aristotle</u></strong><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> - Some of his ideas included deductive reasoning (that we might see in cop/mystery movies or forensics TV shows), the Golden Mean (choosing between two extremes), and the feelings of catharsis or an emotional cleansing. Aristotle was also one of the first true scientists of the ancient era who had the means to study and catalogue numerous plants and animals. </span><br /><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">- With the Golden Mean, Aristotle might feel today that a balance should be struck somewhere between being totally in touch with one's friends through social networking and cutting one's self off completely. </span><br /><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">- Here's an interesting website about a concept called the </span><a href="http://www.mackinac.org/12481" style="color: #6699cc; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; text-decoration-line: none;">Overton Window</a><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> - the points along the scale (if you mapped out the spots between one extreme and another) at which the public is willing to accept an option. </span><br /><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><strong style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><u>II. Modern Philosophy </u></strong><br /><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><strong style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">C. Rene Descartes</strong><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> - He is the father of modern philosophy and started many snowballs rolling downhill, but the one we focused on here was the idea of dualism, the mind and body are separate and not linked. An example the article gave was that if you died in a dream, you wouldn't die in actuality. Movies like <i>The Matrix </i>and <i>Inception </i>deal fully with this mind / body dualism. Descartes is also known for the statement "I think, therefore I am" in which in order to exist, you must first think. Quite a concept! (See <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_in_the_machine" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">link for</a> a further elaboration on different types of dualism).</span><br /><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><img height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVcdcIZOtC8a7vClhTiH_l_QpumRB__RmXeH550md-hTvpFT49pdVeW3VK5zW_rjP1VaAQCWhKj1LPLsurxTNtyyuBU9XJ8Y-o5xC2yY5xJteJe4gk6uAOfHjaalUqEr7xlLR2T76Ofg/s640/Descartes+cartoon.bmp" style="font-size: 14.85px;" width="640" /><br /><strong style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">D. David Hume</strong><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> - This Scottish philosopher improved upon some of Descares' ideas like skepticism (that we cannot truly ever be sure of something b/c it might not reoccur - the article uses the example of a bottle breaking when knocked off of a table). Part of the reason that this type of skepticism exists is b/c of the randomness of life and the infinite number of variables that play into it (later to be called the chaos theory in <i>Jurassic Park</i> or the butterfly effect). Lastly, there's the post hoc fallacy, or to believe that because we see two things occur together, one must have caused the other. Let us say that one morning I get up and turn my coffee machine on, but at the same time, the dishwasher starts up. Does that mean that X (turning coffee machine on) causes Y (dishwasher turns on)? No, not necessarily. </span><br /><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><img height="435" src="http://www.qwantz.com/fanart/150104-9.png" style="font-size: 14.85px;" width="640" /><br /><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><strong style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">E. Immanuel Kant</strong><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> - One of his biggest ideas was the categorical imperative, or in other words, putting yourself to a moral test for each of your actions. You should consider what would happen if everyone followed your course of actions and how that would impact society. Applying this standard to all of your actions would be the key to living a righteous life. If you cheat on taxes, then you are expecting everyone to cheat on their taxes. </span><br /><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">- Also, perception matters, and it differs for everyone. We can never fully perceive what we perceive b/c we are not that object which we perceive. </span><br /><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><img alt="Image result for immanuel Kant cartoon" src="http://www.the-cartoonist.com/all_saints/kant_class.jpg" /><br /><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><strong style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">F. Georg Hegel </strong><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">- Hegel had an idea that had been around for awhile but he refined it to something called absolute spirit - a network that connected every thing to ideas, people and other things around the universe. Hegel also came up with an idea called </span><em style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">zeitgeist</em><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">(German for time-spirit) where peoples' thoughts are guided by the political and cultural atmosphere of a specific time in history. For instance, our time period represented the angry Populist revolt, originally seen in the 1890s when farmers revolted against big business and economic inequality, is seen today in the Tea Party or Trump populism or the left-wing populism of Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. </span><br /><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><img height="434" id="il_fi" src="http://woodgatesview.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/non-sequitur-cartoon.gif?w=540" style="font-size: 14.85px; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="400" /><br /><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><strong style="font-size: 14.85px;"><u>Your Job:</u></strong><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> Pick one of these philosophers and critique his major ideas. Make sure you include some details and explanation from the article in your response. Also, pick one which has ideas closest to your own and explain why. Again, use details from the article and our discussion. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; clear: left; float: left; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; clear: left; float: left; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red; font-size: medium;">Blog due by Thursday by class. Minimum of 300 words for your answer. </span></b></span></div>Geoff Wickershamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07430848929082686290noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-39624481663281312012020-11-11T20:43:00.002-05:002020-11-11T20:43:35.087-05:00Blog #97 - Should the Batman Kill the Joker?<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Please read the following article: "<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">Why Doesn't the Batman Just Kill the Joker?" by Jesse Richards. </span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/quora/why-doesnt-batman-just-ki_b_3686003.html" style="background-color: white; color: #6699cc; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/quora/why-doesnt-batman-just-ki_b_3686003.html</a></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"><u>It brings up a few good points: </u></b><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">1. The Joker will continue to kill (but does Batman murder him for future crimes - could be dangerous - or past crimes? Joker has killed Robin, Commissioner Gordon's wife, and crippled Batgirl, Gordon's stepdaugher).</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">2. Batman's honor code of not killing is just a way for Batman to feel superior to the men and women of crime whom he is fighting.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">3. Is Batman responsible for all of the deaths / mayhem / destruction since Batman first apprehended the Joker? Is that chaos Batman's to own, or should it be the Joker?</span></span><div><br /></div><div>Additionally, it seems, on further reflection, that the Joker, especially the way he is portrayed in <i>The Dark Knight</i>, is the ultimate nihilist. Nihilism is an extreme skepticism that doesn't adhere to any moral or religious principles because they believe that life is meaningless. In some ways, nihilism condemns existence itself. </div><div><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><img alt="Image result for why doesn't the batman kill the joker" height="360" src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/F1GE3jWmK3Q/maxresdefault.jpg" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" width="640" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"><u>So, questions to answer: </u></b><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">1. In which of the scenarios of the Trolley Problem do you think best applies to this situation w/ the Batman and Joker (assuming it was the Joker who is the trolley)?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">2. Should the Batman kill the Joker? Why or why not? And if so, for what crimes - past or to prevent future crimes?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">3. Should our superheroes have a no-killing code? Why or why not? Does it just lead to more crime?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">4. Is the concept of utilitarianism useful for real life decisions? Why or why not?</span></span><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">5. Is Batman a true Kantian in his refusal to kill the Joker (think Kant's practical postulates)? <br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Pick 3 of the questions above to answer. </span></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">300 words total for all 3 answers. Due by class on Friday night (11/13) by midnight. </span></b><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;" /></span><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></div><br /></div></div>Geoff Wickershamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07430848929082686290noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-44862361003883140572020-10-20T14:48:00.001-04:002020-10-20T14:48:46.019-04:00Blog #96 - Interpretations of Inception <p><strong style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here are several interepretations of the movie. Your job is to read over the blog and pick three to talk about. You don't have to agree with them: you can pick them apart with evidence from the movie. </span></strong></p><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr9q7Qo4maTwjdJf0ehBmU9qBmr-AlGh3-EAW8Cfgz-pN3k2blUAXOYer5SW6reCcV1MucRUmPFKNI47qNvov2vvG6yUAtUwm1nfq58hyphenhyphenq8uyXiq5vMa4q-vUtuPSMsXNVKDZvg1PgYQ9h/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr9q7Qo4maTwjdJf0ehBmU9qBmr-AlGh3-EAW8Cfgz-pN3k2blUAXOYer5SW6reCcV1MucRUmPFKNI47qNvov2vvG6yUAtUwm1nfq58hyphenhyphenq8uyXiq5vMa4q-vUtuPSMsXNVKDZvg1PgYQ9h/" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><strong>Questions to choose from (<span style="color: red;">pick three</span>):</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><div style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium;">1. Near the end, Mal (or her projection) in limbo makes a pretty good case that <strong>Cobb is lost in his own dream and can't tell one reality from another. Do you think that this is a plausible alternative? </strong> Why or why not? </div></div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><div style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium;"><br /></div></div><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">2. This blog from Moviefone.com </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">outlines six different interpretations of the film</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> (and also five plot holes - see next question). Read it for more details on each of the six interpretations, but I'll just list each of them below. We have talked about some of them in class.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">** If you decide to fully tackle more than one interpretation of Inception, this will count as another of your three questions.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">a. All of Inception is a dream - are we ever really shown reality? Whose dream is it, anyway?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">b. Everything after the test sedation is a dream - after Yusuf's chemical test, do we see Cobb spin his totem and see it fall properly?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">c. Saito is the architect and pulls a Mr. Charles gambit on Cobb - instead of a job audition like Saito said, maybe Saito is trying to extract something from Cobb?</div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">d. Ariadne is Cobb's therapist trying to help him get over Mal's death - This is an interesting and plausible take on the movie - found here </span><a href="http://halphillips.tumblr.com/post/822919795/inception" style="background-color: white; color: #6699cc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;">http://halphillips.tumblr.com/post/822919795/inception</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">e. We do see reality in the movie (first train ride in Japan, Paris, Mombasa), but Cobb is in a dream at the end - could this explain why the totem never falls at the end of the movie? This interpretation apparently hinges on the idea that the children don't appear to have aged. Plus, we don't see how Saito and Cobb get out of limbo.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">f. What we see is what we get - that we are presented with a reality at the beginning of the movie (train ride in Japan) and that Cobb is back in the U.S. at the end of the movie.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK8PFYN0u8reeD9e8JBwrodjIlo58Gk45l2f99LQ6gbUHvws4mq0aGwSmhSvNuwsrb0zti166PYN5eLKhkSJyhhzVAQzdP3x2lGIxIsrWTelQHx0qDL3H2-irKdzTORHCPSM-pugo2By7K/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK8PFYN0u8reeD9e8JBwrodjIlo58Gk45l2f99LQ6gbUHvws4mq0aGwSmhSvNuwsrb0zti166PYN5eLKhkSJyhhzVAQzdP3x2lGIxIsrWTelQHx0qDL3H2-irKdzTORHCPSM-pugo2By7K/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">3. Evil genius theory </strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">- We should have discussed this in class, but I wonder if it's possible to show that either Saito, Mal or Cobb could be the evil genius manipulating everything we're seeing. Or could it be the film maker Christopher Nolan?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">4. Is <em>Inception</em> really just an extended metaphor for films?</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> In a previous </span><a href="http://grovesphilosophy.blogspot.com/2011/01/blog-41-where-do-ideas-come-from.html" style="background-color: white; color: #6699cc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;">blog</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> from last semester, I posted a link from </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Wired</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">, and I traced it back to its source, so I'll quote the author's take on Nolan's film:</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><blockquote style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">"The film is a metaphor for the way that Nolan as a director works, and what he’s ultimately saying is that the catharsis found in a dream is as real as the catharsis found in a movie is as real as the catharsis found in life. <em>Inception</em> is about making movies, and cinema is the shared dream that truly interests the director."</blockquote><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Here's a link to the whole post: </span><a href="http://www.chud.com/24477/NEVER-WAKE-UP-THE-MEANING-AND-SECRET-OF-INCEPTION/" style="background-color: white; color: #6699cc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;">http://www.chud.com/24477/NEVER-WAKE-UP-THE-MEANING-AND-SECRET-OF-INCEPTION/</a><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWdSYb-uL7FpDEHLdVMMCQa0PzIA4sMUOyQX_fxuEnbRlvOPm7F7TJeMgkYawK_bnXuCKC8LCQxODPj1chJrT8S314_dIHfmCpt5NK_9sHJ9QiDfrgTsObv09LPlun7ndCtqthyphenhyphenTymgJT3/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWdSYb-uL7FpDEHLdVMMCQa0PzIA4sMUOyQX_fxuEnbRlvOPm7F7TJeMgkYawK_bnXuCKC8LCQxODPj1chJrT8S314_dIHfmCpt5NK_9sHJ9QiDfrgTsObv09LPlun7ndCtqthyphenhyphenTymgJT3/w406-h270/image.png" width="406" /></a></div><br /><br /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">My question is, do you buy this interpretation of the movie? Why or why not? What kind of implication does it have for us as film watchers - this shared "dream space" of watching a movie together? Did Christopher Nolan just perform inception on all of us because it's now an idea, like a parasite that won't go away? :)</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><b>5</b>. <strong>When Saito asks Cobb to take a leap of faith, he's asking Cobb to believe in him and Saito's ability to fix Cobb's problems</strong>. In some ways, Saito almost acts like a deity in this movie because through him, almost everything is engineered to work. He is the Prime Mover or causal agent - Cobb and his team are sent on their mission because they failed to extract vital info from Saito for Cobol Engineering. They are tasked to help destroy Saito's biggest competitor (Fischer), and when it's all said and done, Saito returns from limbo after many many years (remember, Mal and Cobb didn't look like they had aged when the train ran them over after just 50 yrs together, but Saito was wrinkled and withered) and supposedly sweeps away Cobb's murder warrant. What is Saito, really? Is he just a very powerful man or is he something else? Why?</div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></div><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">6. Those of you with AP Psych experience, help us out on some of the brain / dream logistics. The way that they explain the dream rules in the movie sound plausible, but <strong>what is realistic w/ regards to dreams? Shared dream space isn't possible, is it? </strong>Any other psych insights would be greatly appreciated here.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHhZMuWHB3M3fwgb0AxVR7sC418oEUjVmI1P_cybc7WxHyR559Rpg8GuVqfaic7_8jpxnW57cP5WrohF6OISJRfQ9Oa9QvB_nnP2Fwk3afIk-P4vwHNVpHDyOZlgcQQ7swJ_xvUDaWcNJY/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="600" height="107" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHhZMuWHB3M3fwgb0AxVR7sC418oEUjVmI1P_cybc7WxHyR559Rpg8GuVqfaic7_8jpxnW57cP5WrohF6OISJRfQ9Oa9QvB_nnP2Fwk3afIk-P4vwHNVpHDyOZlgcQQ7swJ_xvUDaWcNJY/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">7. Arthur mentioned it briefly on how the technology for the shared dreaming was created - by the military so that soldiers could fight/kill each other without truly maiming themselves in reality. Plus, the character played by Michael Caine, Mal's father, seems to have been the one who taught Cobb how to do what he could do. In many ways, I sense the hints of a "prequel," not a sequel for this movie. Unlike the Matrix (which probably should have been left alone instead of having 2 sequels), it might be interesting to explore how the technology for this type of thing was developed and most likely stolen. If it takes 10 years in between movies like it did with Toy Story or Tron, then so be it. <strong>What kinds of possibilities do you see in a prequel or, even if you don't agree with me, a sequel?</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></div><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Some additional points and counterpoints to theories in the movie - <a href="http://inceptiontheories.com/inception-theories-points-counterpoints/" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;">http://inceptiontheories.com/inception-theories-points-counterpoints/</a></div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">DUE THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22 BY MIDNIGHT. </span></b></div>Geoff Wickershamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07430848929082686290noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-86372831540664955292020-10-02T08:09:00.000-04:002020-10-02T08:09:00.840-04:00Blog #95 - Henry Poole is Here <p> <strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Pick three of the following topics / thoughts about the movie and write about your thoughts based on your own personal experience and the movie. </strong></p><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">1. You can’t go to the past to fix the present.” - Esperanza said this when Henry visited his parents' house. Agree or disagree? Why?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img height="353" src="http://www.aceshowbiz.com/images/still/henry_poole_is_here14.jpg" width="532" /></div></div><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">2. Noam Chomsky said: "As soon as questions of will or decision or reason or choice of action arise, human science is at a loss" 1.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></div><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Patience quotes him in the movie, and then follows it up with these lines: "It means that not everything needs an explanation. Sometimes, things happen b/c we choose for them to happen. I chose to believe."</div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></div><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Is she saying that because she believed the miracle on Henry's wall to be true, then that made it true? Or is she saying something else? If you could choose for one thing to come true / exist, what would that be and why?</div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> </div><div style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><div style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium;">3. During the dinner date, Dawn said to Henry as he tried backing away from getting closer to her was: "I know you're gonna die. But all that either of us have is right now, and we should pay attention to that." Henry might be feeling selfish and pushing people away w/ the way he's acting. But when he said, "I am paying attention." And that's why he can't do this (meaning fall for Dawn, go where the date will eventually lead ). Did Henry stop being selfish there for a moment? Or did he revert back to himself again? Why?</div><div style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium;"><br /></div><div style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium;"><div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="333" src="http://www.aceshowbiz.com/images/still/henry_poole_is_here15.jpg" width="500" /></div></div><div style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium;"><br /></div><div style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium;">4. I get the feeling that Henry senses that there are greater forces at work, somehow helping him, coming to heal him, yet he feels unworthy of this sense of grace. Why he feels unworthy, I don't know. The movie doesn't develop Henry's background well enough to make more than a guess. Maybe it's not unworthy, maybe it's pride or stubbornness in his own beliefs that life has just dealt him an awful hand. Maybe he has accepted this fate, for lack of a better word, and decided to deal with it in his own way despite a higher power demanding an audience. What do you think of this idea?</div><div style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium;"></div><div style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium;"></div><div style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium;"><br /><br />5. There's got to be a reason why Patience is named Patience. What about the name Esperanza? It's Spanish for Hope. What made me think about Hope (besides the Obama-themed poster of Henry) was when he was about to destroy the wall and he yelled, "Hope can't save you!" And the last of the virtues would be Love symbolized by Dawn and Faith by Millie (who was the first one to test the validity of the wall).</div><div style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium;"></div><div style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium;"><div style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium;"><br />Henry, on the other hand, would symbolize the seven deadly sins - sloth, gluttony, lust, greed, anger, envy and pride. A stretch? Maybe. How would he symbolize the seven?</div><div style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium;"><br /></div><br /><div style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: medium;">6. Do you think Henry symbolizes some philosophers' skepticism of one's senses? Or does Henry go beyond that to a total skepticism of everything: religion, senses, peoples' good intentions, etc. until he finally discovers that he's not going to die? Why?<br /><br /><br />7. "Everything happens for a reason." When Esperanza talks to Henry about her old boyfriend, Leo, and how that she prayed to God to give her a sign that Leo was o.k., how does the sign on Henry's wall signify an answer to her prayers?<br /><b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">PICK THREE OF THESE QUESTIONS AND ANSWER THEM FULLY. 400 WORDS TOTAL. DUE THURSDAY, 10/8/20 BY CLASS. </span></b></div></div></div>Geoff Wickershamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07430848929082686290noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-6650692702774515542020-09-18T08:51:00.001-04:002020-09-18T08:51:17.434-04:00Blog #94 - Deep Thoughts about Source Code <p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">We talked a bit about the film, </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Source Code</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">, and how it relates to </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Plato's Allegory of the Cave</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">. I don't know if it's a perfect fit, but what is? I think further research is needed for this topic and if you guys can find it pertaining to the film and Plato, that would be great.</span></p><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">The film </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">opens up some questions about fate</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> that I don't think it really answered or that we really touched upon too much. When Capt. Stevens kept being pulled out of the Source Code (SC) and back into his "capsule," he saw these glimpses - call them deja vu, precognition, whatever - of himself and Christina at Chicago's Millenium Park and the big chrome bean. These scenes occurred even before he felt like saving anybody on the train or understood his situation - as if he was headed towards that future "alternate universe" no matter happened. Could it be that every obstacle that Stevens ran into (or literally ran into him - see below!) kept him moving towards that unavoidable future?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><img alt="Image result for source code movie" src="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2011/03/28/085-sc3031_rgb_wide-89f003ff21fb8a92a6e4dcef12185797951f53df-s800-c85.jpg" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">What about </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">the morality of using Capt. Stevens as a lab rat for the Source Code</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">? It's obvious by the end of the movie that he's in a terrible state of physical trauma, and that only his mind is the most complete and functioning part of him. At points in the film, it appeared that Dr. Rutledge was "torturing" Stevens by sending him back into the memories of Sean Fentress only to be blown up again and again. We did mention that Capt. Stevens, as a member of the U.S. military, most likely, had signed away his rights to do with his remains as his parents wished. However, it is hard to imagine a father wishing this for his son. And by the end of the film, if it has reset and everything starts anew, Capt. Stevens will continue to be used further in the GWOT (global war on terror).</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></span><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">One question I kept having while first watching the movie (and occasionally in rewatching it with previous philosophy classes), is </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">what happened to Sean Fentress's essence or soul or being?</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> Captain Stevens takes over Sean's body, his likeness doesn't change, but his demeanor and actions do, as evidenced by Christina noticing how different he is acting on subsequent trips into the Source Code. Dr. Rutledge says that Sean Fentress exists in the Source Code as an electromagnetic field. But where did his essence go? Does Sean's essence / soul / being cease to exist as soon as Capt. Stevens enters Sean's body? Or did it cease to exist as soon as he died and this "Sean" is just a shadow of his former self? Does Sean's essence go somewhere else (maybe heading to heaven or hell or limbo, depending upon what you or even Sean believed)? Is his essence maybe going some place permenantly because he doesn't come back to his body after the end of eight minutes - the bomb goes off and Sean and Christina and dozens other people die? Or since we're watching a memory replay over and over again, is the whole point of where Sean is a moot point because at that point, Sean and many others are already dead and just live on in the memory? Plus at the end of the movie, we see Sean and Christina walking by Millenium Park enjoying a beautiful spring day playing hooky in some kind of memory(?) that couldn't have happened because the bomb didn't go off. Has the real Sean returned? Or is that still Capt. Stevens in his body?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">One more question that I thought of while watching the movie again was this: </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">are all of these trips into the Source Code with all of their different outcomes just part of a multiverse as the movie suggested?</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> Essentially, all of these trips have the same setting, the same laws of physics still apply, the same people in them, and essentially the same outcome (except for the last one) but the one wild card that changes every time is what Captain Stevens does within the eight minutes. Do all of these of these trips comprise different versions of a multiverse? And since the theory behind a multiverse states that almost all outcomes of an event are possible, that could leave room for one "reality" in which the bomb didn't go off.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Lastly, </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">how do you explain the ending</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">? Goodwin and Rutledge have no knowledge of the previous day's events (if those events even occurred - but they had to have existed somewhere, b/c Stevens sent her the email - it came from somewhere, sometime, right?). And at the end of the movie, it looked as if the whole day had been reset, Capt. Stevens was alive and in his previous "state of being," in addition to the bomber being caught and the initial train bombing never having occurred.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgssPgLL_Fv-N7_07mv2maQQb8rB3lSwrzIa1RQAdWLdzRhAtDqU93UFsRFdbIEHo7sdQVtMAu0Bd_qNbbVFcFxIbz9JN1eWAE1Hty7yds_XYp1jFpeD3TO9H0Qm5FYznBLfGlXmS5QF1-M/s1600/Source_Code_movie_stills_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #6699cc; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" height="320" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgssPgLL_Fv-N7_07mv2maQQb8rB3lSwrzIa1RQAdWLdzRhAtDqU93UFsRFdbIEHo7sdQVtMAu0Bd_qNbbVFcFxIbz9JN1eWAE1Hty7yds_XYp1jFpeD3TO9H0Qm5FYznBLfGlXmS5QF1-M/s320/Source_Code_movie_stills_1.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="210" /></a></div><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><u><br /></u></strong></div><div><strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><u>Questions to choose from:</u></strong><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">1. How could the filmmakers have changed the film to make it more like Plato's cave? Explain your reasoning.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">2. What role did fate play in this movie? Why? Or, did fate play no role at all and why not?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">3. Did the military cross the line with the use of Capt. Stevens' body and mind for the Source Code? Why or why not?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">4. Where did Sean Fentress's essence / soul / being go while Captain Stevens took over his body in the Source Code? Why?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">5. Is the ending a new "movie reality" (for lack of a better term)? Why or why not? Is it possible that Stevens' determination somehow merged the alternate universe with the movie's original reality?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="color: purple;"><u>Pick three of the following questions </u>and answer each one as fully as you can. Stay in the nuances of the question as long as you can. Your response should be a <strong>minimum of 400 words</strong> <b>total </b>and is <strong>due Wednesday, Sept. 23 </strong>before class begins. </span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="color: purple;"><b><br /></b></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Here are a few interesting articles that explore some other issues brought up in the film: </b></span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="color: red;">"Who is Sean Fentress? A Completely Serious Exploration of What Happened After the Ending of Source Code" - <a href="https://filmschoolrejects.com/who-is-sean-fentress-e3ddff9993a/" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;">https://filmschoolrejects.com/who-is-sean-fentress-e3ddff9993a/</a> </span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="color: red;">"Here I Am: The Identity Philosophy behind Source Code" - <a href="https://filmschoolrejects.com/here-i-am-the-identity-philosophy-of-source-code-78cbe40abd2f/" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;">https://filmschoolrejects.com/here-i-am-the-identity-philosophy-of-source-code-78cbe40abd2f/</a> </span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="color: red;">"The Philosophy Behind The Source Code" - <a href="https://maxandrews.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/the-philosophy-behind-source-code/" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;">https://maxandrews.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/the-philosophy-behind-source-code/</a> </span></span></div>Geoff Wickershamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07430848929082686290noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-87238868487250876112020-09-01T10:58:00.001-04:002020-09-01T10:58:24.428-04:00Blog #93 - Critique of Top Western Philosophers<p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">In the article, "Philosophy 101," we surveyed six major philosophers and came up with some modern-day applications / examples of their ideas. What you should do with this blog is review their ideas and pick which one you think has the most problematic views, whether their philosophy can apply to today, or if you think it doesn't make sense. Explain why. </span></p><div style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #333333; float: left; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><strong style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><u>I. Ancient Greece </u></strong><br /><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><strong style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">A. Plato </strong><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">- he believed in the idea of the perfect form, that there is a perfect concept for everything (person, horse, chair, etc.) and that everything manmade or natural on Earth is an imperfect copy of that perfect form (In the picture to the left, you have a photo of a chair, a definition of a chair printed out, and an actual chair - each one is a chair but they each have different degrees of reality to them - the farther away from the ideal form they are, the less perfect they are). </span><br /><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">- Plato felt that achieving this perfection would be impossible but it would be important to live a good life by striving for perfection. </span><br /><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><img height="320" src="http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/images/Aristotle_Plato.jpg" style="font-size: 14.85px;" width="224" /><br /><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><strong style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><u>B. Aristotle</u></strong><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> - Some of his ideas included deductive reasoning (that we might see in cop/mystery movies or forensics TV shows), the Golden Mean (choosing between two extremes), and the feelings of catharsis or an emotional cleansing. Aristotle was also one of the first true scientists of the ancient era who had the means to study and catalogue numerous plants and animals. </span><br /><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">- With the Golden Mean, Aristotle might feel today that a balance should be struck somewhere between being totally in touch with one's friends through social networking and cutting one's self off completely. </span><br /><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">- Here's an interesting website about a concept called the </span><a href="http://www.mackinac.org/12481" style="color: #6699cc; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; text-decoration-line: none;">Overton Window</a><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> - the points along the scale (if you mapped out the spots between one extreme and another) at which the public is willing to accept an option. </span><br /><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><strong style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><u>II. Modern Philosophy </u></strong><br /><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><strong style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">C. Rene Descartes</strong><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> - He is the father of modern philosophy and started many snowballs rolling downhill, but the one we focused on here was the idea of dualism, the mind and body are separate and not linked. An example the article gave was that if you died in a dream, you wouldn't die in actuality. Movies like <i>The Matrix </i>and <i>Inception </i>deal fully with this mind / body dualism. Descartes is also known for the statement "I think, therefore I am" in which in order to exist, you must first think. Quite a concept! (See <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_in_the_machine" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">link for</a> a further elaboration on different types of dualism).</span><br /><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><img height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVcdcIZOtC8a7vClhTiH_l_QpumRB__RmXeH550md-hTvpFT49pdVeW3VK5zW_rjP1VaAQCWhKj1LPLsurxTNtyyuBU9XJ8Y-o5xC2yY5xJteJe4gk6uAOfHjaalUqEr7xlLR2T76Ofg/s640/Descartes+cartoon.bmp" style="font-size: 14.85px;" width="640" /><br /><strong style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">D. David Hume</strong><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> - This Scottish philosopher improved upon some of Descares' ideas like skepticism (that we cannot truly ever be sure of something b/c it might not reoccur - the article uses the example of a bottle breaking when knocked off of a table). Part of the reason that this type of skepticism exists is b/c of the randomness of life and the infinite number of variables that play into it (later to be called the chaos theory in <i>Jurassic Park</i> or the butterfly effect). Lastly, there's the post hoc fallacy, or to believe that because we see two things occur together, one must have caused the other. Let us say that one morning I get up and turn my coffee machine on, but at the same time, the dishwasher starts up. Does that mean that X (turning coffee machine on) causes Y (dishwasher turns on)? No, not necessarily. </span><br /><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><img height="435" src="http://www.qwantz.com/fanart/150104-9.png" style="font-size: 14.85px;" width="640" /><br /><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><strong style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">E. Immanuel Kant</strong><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> - One of his biggest ideas was the categorical imperative, or in other words, putting yourself to a moral test for each of your actions. You should consider what would happen if everyone followed your course of actions and how that would impact society. Applying this standard to all of your actions would be the key to living a righteous life. If you cheat on taxes, then you are expecting everyone to cheat on their taxes. </span><br /><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">- Also, perception matters, and it differs for everyone. We can never fully perceive what we perceive b/c we are not that object which we perceive. </span><br /><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><img alt="Image result for immanuel Kant cartoon" src="http://www.the-cartoonist.com/all_saints/kant_class.jpg" /><br /><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><strong style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">F. Georg Hegel </strong><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">- Hegel had an idea that had been around for awhile but he refined it to something called absolute spirit - a network that connected every thing to ideas, people and other things around the universe. Hegel also came up with an idea called </span><em style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">zeitgeist</em><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">(German for time-spirit) where peoples' thoughts are guided by the political and cultural atmosphere of a specific time in history. For instance, our time period represented the angry Populist revolt, originally seen in the 1890s when farmers revolted against big business and economic inequality, is seen today in the Tea Party or Trump populism or the left-wing populism of Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. </span><br /><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><img height="434" id="il_fi" src="http://woodgatesview.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/non-sequitur-cartoon.gif?w=540" style="font-size: 14.85px; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="400" /><br /><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><strong style="font-size: 14.85px;"><u>Your Job:</u></strong><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> Pick one of these philosophers and critique his major ideas. Make sure you include some details and explanation from the article (and Google Doc notes that we compiled) in your response. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #333333; float: left; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; clear: left; color: #333333; float: left; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">Minimum 300 words for your answer. Due Tuesday, 9/8, by the beginning of class. </span></b></span></div>Geoff Wickershamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07430848929082686290noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-41335985401210838402020-05-17T15:59:00.000-04:002020-05-17T15:59:03.915-04:00Blog #92 - Some thought on InceptionHere are some thoughts I'd like you to respond to in your answer to this blog:<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">1. Philosopher Immanuel Kant would likely say that both inception and extraction are immoral, despite your intentions, because because you (as the extractor) are violating the autonomy of the individual. These actions disrespect humanity because your personal autonomy (or ability to control yourself, your thoughts, and actions) is a mark of your humanity, what makes you different than other animals in this world. If someone has implanted an idea in your head, how can you be responsible for it or the actions that come from it? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">2. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Ariadne acts like Cobb's therapist throughout the movie and helps him with the guilt that is sabotaging his dreams and memories. In the first dream (Yusuf's, in the scene in the warehouse), Cobb tells her why he feels so guilty - because, after 50 years in Limbo, he had planted the idea in Mal's head that this world (Limbo) wasn't real and that they needed to kill themselves to get back to reality (being awake). She brought this idea back with her into reality and flipped the idea around - her waking state was Limbo and that she needed to get back to reality (in her mind, Limbo). My question for you is: is Ariadne practicing her own version of inception w/ Cobb by placing the ideas in his head that he needs to confront Mal's projection and rid himself of the guilt of her suicide (which he eventually succeeds in doing)? Why or why not? </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">3. </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Catharsis </em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">-- a concept first introduced to us by Aristotle (a purging or purification of the self or the transformation as a result of the catharsis), Cobb, Arthur and Eames have all talked about Fischer reaching a state of catharsis with his father so that their inception idea can take hold. Reconciliation with positive emotion is much stronger, according to Cobb, than with a negative emotion. So we see that Fischer is reconciled with his father at the end and decides to break up his company when he awakes from the kidnapping scene. But, does Cobb reach his own catharsis when he finds that he's allowed into the United States and can finally see his children's faces again? Throughout the movie, that's all he's ever wanted is to get back home to his kids, and the ending scene shows that reunion (with his children a couple of years older - I checked the credits - there are two different pairs of child actors). But does this catharsis really happen because of the ending scene with the top? Did the scene turn off before the top fell over? </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> - Cobb also has another scene of catharsis near the end in limbo when he says goodbye to Mal "you're just a shade of my real wife..." </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">4. </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Movie - Making</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> - </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Inception</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">, as a film, is all a dream, but it's also an extended metaphor for filmmaker Christopher Nolan. Like a dream, the movie is a shared dream for the audience and has its own rules and functions along those lines. Some characters and scenes happen like dreams in which there seems to be no rhyme or reason: Mal comes out of a crowd and stabs Ariadne; the train in the first dream that blasts through downtown where there's no tracks; the elder Fischer's hospital bed in a huge vault inside of a mountain fortress; Cobb squeezing between an amazingly small gap of two buildings. Mal even makes the case to Cobb at the end that he is in fact still stuck in a dream, with feelings of persecution (the authorities or Cobol's security forces), creeping doubts, and little remembrance of how he got there. On another thought, the way the dream team works is similar to how a movie is made - they plan the scenes and the movie sets down to the smallest details, always conscious of the audience (the dreamer's projections) and its reaction. And, the way the movie ends with the cut scene of the top and then kicking into the music (Edith Piaf's haunting melody) as the credits roll is kind of like a dream because sometimes we are ripped out of a dream before its ending and we want to know how it ends. Yet we can't go back.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> -- all of this is controlled by the master manipulator, the director, Christopher Nolan. Everything in this movie is done for a reason. Cobb is the director, Arthur is the producer who does the research, Ariadne the screenwriter when she acts as the architect, Eames is the actor and Yusuf is the technical guy that makes it all happen. Saito is the money guy (also a producer) who finances the whole operation and Fischer is the audience who is taken for an exciting adventure by the director, Cobb. Yet we are also the audience too, since this is a movie. Arthur mentions continuously that they cannot mess with the dream too much, otherwise the dreamer knows something is wrong. The same can be said for movies - when there's too much fakery or interference from the director, we as the audience snap out of the trance that the movie is weaving for us and see the movie for what it is. We lose ourselves in well-made movies b/c we're not paying attention to the poor acting or screenwriting or plotholes or ridiculous scenes. We care about the characters and want to see a satisfying resolution. And so Cobb, as the director, makes an amazing movie, but also brings part of himself into the movie (Mal) which can influence the audience (she shoots Fischer in the 3rd dream). Most of the jarring scenes in </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Inception </em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">include Mal. And it's Mal who questions Cobb and raises doubt as to his true purpose. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> - And since the movie is like a dream, it has planted the idea of itself in the mind of the movie audience as well - is this a movie or was the whole thing a dream? This is where the movie becomes almost a meta-movie; it is Christopher Nolan dreaming about Cobb. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Please discuss your thoughts on 3 of 4 of these topics. 350 words minimum for your total comment. </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Due Friday, May 22 by 11:59 pm. </b></span></span></div>
Geoff Wickershamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07430848929082686290noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-84899442752728354922020-05-06T14:47:00.000-04:002020-05-06T14:47:20.600-04:00Blog #91 - Thoughts about The Adjustment Bureau <img alt="Image result for adjustment bureau philosophy" src="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/69/75/cb/6975cbd637f3b1216825e3285c2c7b0c.jpg" /><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">While we watched the </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Adjustment Bureau,</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> I had several questions as I'm sure many of you did too. Here were several of them:</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">1. Who was the Chairman in the film (I know that somebody found info that the director said that the Chairman was a female character in the film)? Did Norris and / or Elise see the Chairman during the film or was it earlier in their lifetimes before the film ever began? (Do you buy my idea that it was the guy that said hi to Norris on the street after the second time Norris and Elise meet?)</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">2. When Harry said to Elise and Norris that the Chairman rewrote the plan, the book showed a blank space ahead for the two of them. What do you think that meant? Does the blank space mean that David and Elise get to forge their own destiny? Or does it mean something else? Explain. And what does this say about the mind of the Chairman, that two humans can change the</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">3. Kids in past classes have asked why there weren't any female adjusters. I didn't have an answer for them as to that question. I have also criticized the film's Western / Euro - centered bias when it talked about giving mankind free will during the Roman times and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Assess the film in light of these flaws.</span><br />
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<img alt="Review: The Adjustment Bureau - Slant Magazine" height="244" src="https://www.slantmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/adjustmentbureau.jpg" width="640" /><br />
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4. <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Why do you think the filmmaker decided never to show the Chairman in his/her/its true form? By leaving this question unanswered, what was the filmmaker's intent? </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">5. Think about Harry's crisis of conscience when Elise and David broke up for the 3rd time (when he left her at the hospital), and he asked Richardson about the rightness of the plan. Put yourself in one of the adjusters' shoes and try to make sense of it all when you're only given part of the picture. Does this limited view of the big picture reflect our own view on life in general? Why or why not?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">6. Do you agree with Thompson when he says that "free will is an illusion"? Why or why not? </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">7. What is the filmmaker saying about order and chaos when Thompson tells us about the times when humans had free will and made a complete mess of the world? </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">8. Looking at Harry's statement at the end (see below), what do you think is the filmmaker's message? Why?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br />
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<em>“Most people live life on the path that we set for them to afraid to explore any other [path]/ Sometimes, someone like you comes along and knocks down the obstacles that we put in your way. People should realize that free will is a gift that you’ll never know how to use until you fight for it. I think that’s the Chairman’s real point. And maybe one day, we won’t write the plan, you will.”</em></blockquote>
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<strong><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #333333;">Pick </span><span style="color: red;"><u>four</u></span><span style="color: #333333;"> of these questions and answer them for Friday May 8 by 11:59 pm. </span></span></strong><strong style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: small;">400 words minimum for your total answer. Thanks. </span></strong></div>
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<strong style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="font-size: small;">Some articles on the inclusion of philosophy in Adjustment Bureau: </span></strong><br style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;" /><strong style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="font-size: small;">1. </span></strong><a href="https://www.philosophynews.com/post/2011/09/05/The-Adjustment-Bureau-and-Free-Will.aspx" style="color: #6699cc; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;">https://www.philosophynews.com/post/2011/09/05/The-Adjustment-Bureau-and-Free-Will.aspx</a><br style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">2. </span><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/plato-pop/201103/what-the-adjustment-bureau-tells-us-about-free-will" style="color: #6699cc; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;">https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/plato-pop/201103/what-the-adjustment-bureau-tells-us-about-free-will</a><br style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">3. </span><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/plato-pop/201103/how-the-adjustment-bureau-threatens-free-will" style="color: #6699cc; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;">https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/plato-pop/201103/how-the-adjustment-bureau-threatens-free-will</a><br style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">4. </span><a href="https://maxandrews.wordpress.com/2011/03/06/the-philosophy-behind-the-adjustment-bureau/" style="color: #6699cc; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;">https://maxandrews.wordpress.com/2011/03/06/the-philosophy-behind-the-adjustment-bureau/</a><br style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">5. </span><a href="http://www1.cbn.com/movies/the-adjustment-bureau-fate-free-will" style="color: #6699cc; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;">http://www1.cbn.com/movies/the-adjustment-bureau-fate-free-will</a></div>
Geoff Wickershamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07430848929082686290noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-24490897111115967662020-04-27T13:07:00.003-04:002020-04-27T13:07:52.933-04:00Blog #90 - The Problem of Evil <br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">There can be a </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">natural evil</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> - something like a natural disaster (like the 2010 devastating earthquake in Haiti that killed almost 200,000 people and possibly left a million people homeless); diseases like cancer, AIDS, (or yes, I'll say it, COVID - 19); accidents or other things that don't seem to have an intent to do harm but just happen (an agentless cause).</span><img alt="Natural Evil – Balenceology Blog" height="202" src="https://balanceologydotblog.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/natural-evil.jpg?w=1400" width="320" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">- </span><u style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">What about lung cancer?</u><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> If lung cancer is caused by someone's smoking habit, then it can be considered evil. The cigarettes themselves, however, cannot be thought of as evil, because they needed to be used in order to become toxic. If a person develops lung cancer b/c he/she lives in a high pollution area and has lived w/ heavy smokers his/her entire life, then the person wouldn't be considered evil. An evil has been done to him/her by another person's free will (the smoker, the polluting company).</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">- </span><u style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">What about the use of the atomic bomb?</u><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> - Can an object itself be evil w/o an agent to use it? If the atomic bomb was never exploded over a population but used as leverage by the countries that owned them, is that evil? Does the threat of its use make it evil? Or is the threat itself evil? If the bomb is created but never used or even its use threatened, does the bomb cease to be evil? </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Then there are </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">moral evils</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">. These have an agent as the cause or someone or something doing the evil </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">with intent. </em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">We tried to break things down to universals - is there a universal evil in every society (like Satan)? Wikipedia broke the nature of moral evil down into 4 groups:</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12.6225px;">"Views on the nature of evil tend to fall into one of four opposed camps:</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_absolutism" style="background-color: white; color: #6699cc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Moral absolutism"><span style="font-size: 12.6225px;">Moral absolutism</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12.6225px;"> holds that good and evil are fixed concepts established by a </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deity" style="background-color: white; color: #6699cc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Deity"><span style="font-size: 12.6225px;">deity</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12.6225px;"> or </span><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deities" style="background-color: white; color: #6699cc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Deities"><span style="font-size: 12.6225px;">deities</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12.6225px;">, nature, morality, common sense, or some other source;</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amoralism" style="background-color: white; color: #6699cc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Amoralism"><span style="font-size: 12.6225px;">Amoralism</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12.6225px;"> claims that good and evil are meaningless, that there is no moral ingredient in nature;</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_relativism" style="background-color: white; color: #6699cc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Moral relativism"><span style="font-size: 12.6225px;">Moral relativism</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12.6225px;"> holds that standards of good and evil are only products of local culture, custom, or prejudice;</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_universalism" style="background-color: white; color: #6699cc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Moral universalism"><span style="font-size: 12.6225px;">Moral universalism</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12.6225px;"> is the attempt to find a compromise between the absolutist sense of morality, and the relativist view; universalism claims that morality is only flexible to a degree, and that what is truly good or evil can be determined by examining what is commonly considered to be evil amongst all humans. Author </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Harris_(author)" style="background-color: white; color: #6699cc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Sam Harris (author)"><span style="font-size: 12.6225px;">Sam Harris</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12.6225px;"> notes that universal morality can be understood using measurable (i.e. quantifiable) metrics of happiness and suffering, both physical and mental, rooted in how the biology of the brain processes stimuli."</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">As discussed in the chapter "Two Cultures", St. Augustine thought that evil was not doing God's will. He also believed that we as humans are born with original sin (because of Adam and Eve's disobedience in the Garden of Eden). </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Then there is the </span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">problem of evil </strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">- why does it exist at all? This is the school of thought that if God (or any all knowing, all powerful </span><u style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">good </u><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">diety) existed, why would that diety allow evil to exist? If it did allow evil to exist, then is the diety really good and/or all powerful? There are many ways to look at this - see Problem of evil - </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_evil" style="background-color: white; color: #6699cc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;">here</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> - and </span><a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/evil/" style="background-color: white; color: #6699cc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;">here </a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">- and </span><a href="http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-problem-of-evil.htm" style="background-color: white; color: #6699cc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;">here</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> - for ideas. Some religious types think that this argument is so corrosive that they devote a lot of energy to debunking it - they think it might lead to atheism.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><img alt="The Problem of Evil | Life Giving Words of Hope & Encouragement by ..." height="400" src="https://jeffdavisblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/the-problem-of-evil-1.jpeg" width="272" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">C.S. Lewis, author of the </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Chronicles of Narnia</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">, wrote this about his early athiest days:</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="font-size: 12.6225px;">"My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?... Of course I could have given up my idea of justice by saying it was nothing but a private idea of my own. But if I did that, then my argument against God collapsed too--for the argument depended on saying the world was really unjust, not simply that it did not happen to please my fancies"</span></em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Occam's Razor</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> is an idea credited to 14th Century friar William of Ockham which states that the conclusion based on the fewest assumptions is most likely the right one. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><u>Questions (pick 3 of 5 questions to answer):</u></strong><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">1. Is it better to prevent evil than to promote good when making rules or standards to live by? Why?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">2. Do you agree with the problem of evil - that a benevolent, omnipotent diety wouldn't allow evil? Why or why not?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">3. Are we making this more complicated than it has to be? Or should we just reduce it to the simplest explanation (</span><strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Occam's razor</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> - see above)?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">4. If we as humans can conceive of evil or evil acts and thoughts, does that mean we are evil by nature? Why or why not?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">5. Do you believe that free will is at the root of most evil? Why or why not? </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Your responses to the questions due by Saturday night, May 2. 400 words for your total answer. </span></b></span>Geoff Wickershamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07430848929082686290noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-31778619067387698212020-04-16T12:29:00.001-04:002020-04-16T12:29:56.389-04:00Blog #89 - Blue Pill or Red Pill <span style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Which pill would you have taken and why?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Neo is offered the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">red pill</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> and the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #000066; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">blue pill</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> by Morpheus in the opening act of </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">the Matrix</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">. The blue pill allows Neo to remain in the Matrix, in essence to go back to sleep and to remember this little encounter w/ Morpheus as a dream or "believe whatever you want to believe". The red pill allows Neo to stay in the "wonderland" and discover the truth.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifTcj6atYAe1or9lw41SHZxldOU1MvLd29eY2sQPW4AOzqBG5qmYgrSHpcpFyNnNBslwSLhr7Zvan-oUJIc4yZb4kDkTHyvA9cKhTRurYYle0RX-sAY7D5QNzQuqGIRHyPP9jEVOOPOcvm/s1600-h/matrix04.jpg" style="background-color: white; color: #6699cc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247165779889505442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifTcj6atYAe1or9lw41SHZxldOU1MvLd29eY2sQPW4AOzqBG5qmYgrSHpcpFyNnNBslwSLhr7Zvan-oUJIc4yZb4kDkTHyvA9cKhTRurYYle0RX-sAY7D5QNzQuqGIRHyPP9jEVOOPOcvm/s200/matrix04.jpg" style="border: none; float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; position: relative;" /></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="color: #333333;">I like this sentence from an essay about the Matrix b/c it captures the essence of the choice: </span></span><br />
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<em style="background-color: white; color: #000099; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">"The question then is not about pills, but what they stand for in these circumstances. The question is asking us whether reality, truth, is worth pursuing."</em><br />
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I think since most if not all of you who are taking this class are taking this class b/c you want to dig deeper into life, you are highly curious and intelligent and want to find out what is out there, I think there's very very few who will NOT take the red pill.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYFHa-2WIjd-0yFT16c15OkqyM-3FZB9XdZnG8h_LfPMk3VHF88psOCHxsI5olvgGCBp-VHkvk0E9Gd_GXcSh6-dhkqp2ewlrwhum8qgG5W4x5OShsS9K70jj5bhjTrxiJvALs27zeLQs/s1600-h/pods800.jpg" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYFHa-2WIjd-0yFT16c15OkqyM-3FZB9XdZnG8h_LfPMk3VHF88psOCHxsI5olvgGCBp-VHkvk0E9Gd_GXcSh6-dhkqp2ewlrwhum8qgG5W4x5OShsS9K70jj5bhjTrxiJvALs27zeLQs/s1600-h/pods800.jpg" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;"></a></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYFHa-2WIjd-0yFT16c15OkqyM-3FZB9XdZnG8h_LfPMk3VHF88psOCHxsI5olvgGCBp-VHkvk0E9Gd_GXcSh6-dhkqp2ewlrwhum8qgG5W4x5OShsS9K70jj5bhjTrxiJvALs27zeLQs/s1600-h/pods800.jpg" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYFHa-2WIjd-0yFT16c15OkqyM-3FZB9XdZnG8h_LfPMk3VHF88psOCHxsI5olvgGCBp-VHkvk0E9Gd_GXcSh6-dhkqp2ewlrwhum8qgG5W4x5OShsS9K70jj5bhjTrxiJvALs27zeLQs/s1600-h/pods800.jpg" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;"></a></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYFHa-2WIjd-0yFT16c15OkqyM-3FZB9XdZnG8h_LfPMk3VHF88psOCHxsI5olvgGCBp-VHkvk0E9Gd_GXcSh6-dhkqp2ewlrwhum8qgG5W4x5OShsS9K70jj5bhjTrxiJvALs27zeLQs/s1600-h/pods800.jpg" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYFHa-2WIjd-0yFT16c15OkqyM-3FZB9XdZnG8h_LfPMk3VHF88psOCHxsI5olvgGCBp-VHkvk0E9Gd_GXcSh6-dhkqp2ewlrwhum8qgG5W4x5OShsS9K70jj5bhjTrxiJvALs27zeLQs/s1600-h/pods800.jpg" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;"></a></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYFHa-2WIjd-0yFT16c15OkqyM-3FZB9XdZnG8h_LfPMk3VHF88psOCHxsI5olvgGCBp-VHkvk0E9Gd_GXcSh6-dhkqp2ewlrwhum8qgG5W4x5OShsS9K70jj5bhjTrxiJvALs27zeLQs/s1600-h/pods800.jpg" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYFHa-2WIjd-0yFT16c15OkqyM-3FZB9XdZnG8h_LfPMk3VHF88psOCHxsI5olvgGCBp-VHkvk0E9Gd_GXcSh6-dhkqp2ewlrwhum8qgG5W4x5OShsS9K70jj5bhjTrxiJvALs27zeLQs/s1600-h/pods800.jpg" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration-line: none;"></a></blockquote>
So, when answering this question, consider the possible ramifications/consequences of choosing your pill.<br />
<ul style="line-height: 1.4; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;">
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Are you content with knowing that you could die at any moment from those machines that are trying to kill you?<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247166080509996322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE8nkp8B2lkIF6KiJxbJrpvC9ePxwvG4ZUJNM405BdLmDgvnAslW6HSVFJCAYv_U-zzRGqU5Qq6rcVnqzCNwQHAjlNkFCiaIYI9S7HLxOb2_LtTbRbMpTLHckBaRg9nby_ReJukHuLd_Th/s200/robots-matrix.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" /></li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">What if Neo is NOT the One and you've sacrificed yourself for nothing?</li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Obviously, if you choose the blue pill and you go back into the Matrix, would you be able to live w/ yourself w/ the knowledge that you had the answers at your fingertips and you let them go (for whatever reasons - fear, apathy, etc.)?</li>
</ul>
<strong>So, when choosing, choose wisely and consider the consequences of your actions. </strong></blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote>
<strong>350 words minimum. Post your answers here below (Comments). Due Monday, April 20. </strong></blockquote>
<br />
Please read this article and make some references to it in your answer: <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/matrix-red-pill-vs-blue-pill/" style="font-size: 14.85px;">https://www.wired.com/story/matrix-red-pill-vs-blue-pill/</a> <span style="font-size: 14.85px;"> </span></div>
Geoff Wickershamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07430848929082686290noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648222277989270046.post-80101505360611603012019-06-11T14:08:00.000-04:002019-06-11T14:08:55.626-04:00Blog #88 - The Examind Life philosophers<b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">Out of the several philosophers that we saw in </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;">The Examined Life</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">, which of them seemed: </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">1. To have the most appealing outlooks on life; </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">2. To have the least appealing (or comprehensible) views of life? </span></b><br />
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<em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">In summary, here they are in order of appearance in the film: </em><br />
<strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><u>1. Cornel West </u></strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">- Harvard and Princeton educated, Dr. West has spent the majority of his studies examining race, gender, and class in American society. He is considered a "neopragmatist", similar to that of William James' pragmatism (something has value if it works), where language is the primary vehicle for understanding the world and trying to make meaning from it. He has called himself a "non-Marxist socialist" primarily because he's a religious person and cannot reconcile the fact that Marxism dismisses religion. He also tends to be suspicious of all forms of authority, because they can lead to tyranny and / or abuse. One of his latest books is called </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Democracy-Matters-Winning-Against-Imperialism/dp/0143035835/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362775263&sr=8-1&keywords=democracy+matters" style="background-color: white; color: #6699cc; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" target="_blank">Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight Against Imperialism</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" />
<strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">2. Avital Ronell</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> - her parents were Israeli diplomats and she was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia. She is a professor of German language in New York and has translated French philosopher Jacques Derrida in his earliest works introduced into America. She follows a school of philosophy called Deconstructionism where she tries to discover the underlying meanings of words and language. She feels that " language is a material that cannot not interrupt, suspend, resist, exceed, and otherwise trip up the very message it is charged to deliver," because "words can go AWOL (absent without leave" or in many instances, be misunderstood or misinterpreted by the listener / reader. In many respects, this problem with language has led her to believe that there are no guiding Truths. One of her latest books is called </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Stupidity-Avital-Ronell/dp/0252071271" style="background-color: white; color: #6699cc; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" target="_blank">Stupidity</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">. </span><br />
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<strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">3. Peter Singer</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> - an Australian philosopher who has become very popular with his most well known for his strong moral beliefs about animals and eating meat. He is opposed to animal experimentation as well as eating meat. He follows in the school of Utilitarianism (John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham) which tries to maximize the greatest good for the largest number of people. He also feels very strongly that the wealthy have an obligation to provide help for those in extreme poverty (remember the $200 pair of shoes ruined to save a drowning child). On his own website, he claims to give 25% of his income to non-profit groups that are devoted to the poor. His latest book is </span><a href="http://www.thelifeyoucansave.com/welcome-donate.php?utm_expid=20239438-5&utm_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.princeton.edu%2F~psinger%2Findex.html" style="background-color: white; color: #6699cc; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" target="_blank">The Life You Can Save</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">. </span><br />
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<strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">4. Kwame Anthony Appiah</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> - as mentioned in the film, he's the product of a Ghanian father and an English mother, he studied at Cambridge and has taught at some of the top universities in the U.S. His studies have included examining the intellectual history of African Americans and he also deals with language and semantics - the underlying meanings of words. In the segment we watched, Appiah talked about our notion of identity in a multicultural world. He doesn't believe that race should form your identity, but that we should look for universalities between us to do that. </span><a href="http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/09/princeton-admissions-tilghman-leadership-power-09-intellectuals_slide_2.html" style="background-color: white; color: #6699cc; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" target="_blank">Forbes Magazine </a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">named him one of the Top Seven Most Powerful Thinkers in the world - Judith Butler is also on this list as well. Appiah's latest book is called </span><a href="http://appiah.net/books/the-honor-code/" style="background-color: white; color: #6699cc; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" target="_blank">The Honor Code</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">. </span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">5. Martha Nussbaum </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">- is a professor at the University of Chicago with an interest in ancient Greek and Roman philosophy along with concerns over feminism, political philosophy and morality. From ancient Greek and Roman philosophies, she has explored the idea of neo-Stoicism which acknowledges that things outside of our control have a great influence on us. She has also tried to draw attention to the political and gender inequality and the lack of opportunities for women. She's a strong believer in inclusion of other cultures and feels that those who promote Western culture (our culture) at the expense of others is paternalistic. In the field of moral psychology, she wrote that emotions like shame and disgust are legitimate emotions to use to make legal judgments. Her latest book is </span><a href="http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674065901" style="background-color: white; color: #6699cc; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" target="_blank">The New Religious Intolerance</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">. </span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">6. Michael Hardt - </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Hardt is a political philosopher from Duke University who was born in 1960. As he mentioned in the film, he spent time in Latin America during the 1980s learning from the Marxist political movements in Nicaragua and El Salvador. He has criticized globalization and sees it as a form of American imperialism. Nations' power to control their own destiny has declined as American (and European) companies have expanded to control various aspects of developing countries' resources. His major work, written with Antonio Negri, is called </span><a href="http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674006713" style="background-color: white; color: #6699cc; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" target="_blank">Empire</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">. Globalization has spawned new forms of racism and cultural change, and that the focus of political power has shifted from governments to corporations. This shift is less democratic because there's very little if any recourse to stop / control these corporations. </span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">7. Slavoj Zizek</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> - Zizek is a neo-Marxist and has been considered the "</span><a href="http://www.salon.com/2012/12/29/slavoj_zizek_i_am_not_the_worlds_hippest_philosopher/" style="background-color: white; color: #6699cc; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" target="_blank">hippest philosopher in Europe</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">" by many and also called "the Elvis of philosophy." He hails from Slovenia and has written many books. He tends to provoke with his statements, like comparing Julian Assange to Mahatma Gandhi. He rarely gives straightforward answers to questions: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2013/jan/13/observer-profile-slavoj-zizek-opera" style="color: #6699cc;" target="_blank">"I like to complicate issues. I hate simple narratives. I suspect them. This is my automatic reaction</a>." </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He is also an athiest and has written extensively on movies, violence, and other topics. He apparently wrote a review of Avatar first w/o having actually seen it first: "I'm a good Hegelian. If you have a good theory, forget about the reality." His primary influence is philosopher Jacques Lacan. One of his latest book is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Living-End-Times-Slavoj-Zizek/dp/1844677028/ref=la_B000APK7P8_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1362876552&sr=1-5" style="color: #6699cc;" target="_blank">Living in the End Times</a>. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>8. Judith Butler</b> - is currently a professor of rhetoric and literature at the University of Berkeley, California. One of her primary philosophical keys is gender studies and how sex and gender roles are flexible or shouldn't be as confining as we tend to see them in our society. Gender identity does not necessarily reflect who are in our "inner core" - meaning, that just because we are men or women does NOT mean that we should be bound by those male and female roles. Gender is supposed to be a secondary characteristic to who are, not a primary one. Also, her political philosophy has been influenced by her religion, Judaism, and she believes in a "Judaism that is not associated with state violence," and has said that Israel does not represent all Jews. As mentioned in the segment on Appiah, Forbes named her one of the top seven thinkers in the world and she has been called </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;">"a big-deal academic, ... and oft-cited academic superstar...</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;">the most famous feminist philosopher in the United States," "the queer theorist par excellence," and "the most brilliantly eclectic theorist of sexuality in recent years." Her most popular book has been <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gender-Trouble-Feminism-Subversion-Routledge/dp/0415389550/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1362877419&sr=1-1&keywords=gender+trouble" style="color: #6699cc;" target="_blank">Gender Trouble</a>. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: lime; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b>This blog will be due by Friday, June 14 by class. This blog is part of your final exam along with your answers to the questions on the film. You can turn them in on Friday, June 14. </b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: lime; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: lime; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b>Also, please read this article for Friday (after the exam) for an enlightening discussion on the ethics of punching a Nazi. </b></span></span><span style="color: lime; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2017/jan/31/the-punch-a-nazi-meme-what-are-the-ethics-of-punching-nazis">https://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2017/jan/31/the-punch-a-nazi-meme-what-are-the-ethics-of-punching-nazis</a> </b></span>Geoff Wickershamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07430848929082686290noreply@blogger.com8